In the ubiquitous darkness floated various stone squares. They were weightless, drifting chaotically. Ghostly wails and horrifying roars sounded in the darkness, speaking of the hidden nightmares.
Withing one of the stone squares a black door opened on the wall. The rattling of chains sounded, and Cyclone and Fortune were pushed out. Before they could orient themselves the door and the chains disappeared, abandoning the prisoners, only to return after a hundred years.
"That…"
Cyclone didn't know what to say as she observed the prison cell. There was not much to see. A single red candle spread some light. The walls were made from solid stone except for one which was replaced with steel bars revealing the darkness outside.
"Great… What now?"
Fortune sat on the floor, rubbing her temples as she asked her fellow cellmate.
"Hmm. I can't message the others. But I think we can just wait. They will definitely save us!"
"And what if they can't save us? We don't even know where this is. Perhaps there is a powerful guardian they can't overcome?"
"Ehm…"
The two mages discussed their situation, attempting various means. They attacked their surroundings, shouted for help, and attempted to get the devil's attention but nothing worked. Just as they were running out of options, a light bulb lit up in Cyclone's mind.
"I got it! Haha, I'm so clever!"
Noticing Fortune's strange gaze Cyclone retrieved a certain scroll from her inventory and waved it in front of Fortune's eyes. The latter slowly understood.
"This is… the scroll given by Grandpa Troo?"
"Exactly. Here, look at the description. The scroll can resist and destroy the magic of the devil Souravnimn. It must be the key to get us out of here!"
"Hmm, definitely worth a try…"
"Watch me!"
Cyclone was quite eager. She directly activated the scroll. A bright light erupted. It was half white and half black, holy and dark. The two opposite types of magic intricately worked together. If some high-ranking NPCs were here to witness this scene, they would be astounded by the genius of whoever created this spell. Unfortunately, this marvel was lost to Cyclone and Fortune. They only cared whether it worked or not.
The light increased and filled the entire cell in a flash. Suddenly it was as if the dark magic had found something. It converged to certain spots and previously invisible lines surrounding the two mages became visible. Next, the holy magic turned into the sharpest blades, slashing at the lines, cutting them apart. Instantly Cyclone's body dissolved like Silver Blade's earlier. A moment later the light died down, the scene turned quiet, and Cyclone had disappeared.
"Who?!"
Silver Blade let out a shout as a person suddenly appeared in front of her out of thin air.
"Oh, Cy, it's you! Did you also beat a champion? Were you faster than Mirage? Nice one!"
"Silver! Silver, it was so terrifying! Buhuuu!"
Cyclone suddenly threw her body forward, dramatically embracing Silver Blade. Of course, the latter wouldn't be fooled by her bestest friend's acting. She could tell that Cyclone was just being dramatic. But she was still curious what had happened. Just as Silver Blade asked Cyclone to tell her, Fortune also appeared in front of them. The three women conversed briefly, and Silver Blade understood the situation.
"Haha, so you were actually sent to jail for trying to help me?"
"Yes. It was terrifying. And so dark! Do you realise what sacrifice we shouldered for your win?"
"Ok, you're right. I'll get you some ice cream later."
"Mhm."
Cyclone was satisfied. It didn't matter if the ice cream came from the guild house. It was the thought that counts!
Next, the three women continued their journey. They had already left the fortress and made their way down the mountain chatting merely. But it didn't take long for someone else to join them.
"Balm! What champion did you defeat?", asked Cyclone as the healer appeared in front of them.
"I didn't defeat a champion…"
"You didn't? Then… how did you appear here?"
"I broke the rules on purpose so I would be sent to jail. The plan was to tell you guys that the scrolls bestowed by Grandpa Troo can get you out. But it seems you figured it out yourself."
"Haha. You have underestimated my genius! Of course I can solve such a minor puzzle. But… thank you anyways!"
After Balm joined the group, they continued but it didn't take long for another person to appear. It was Liam. He was the first one who left the painting by defeating a champion in bare-handed combat. The champion cheated as well, ganging up on Liam with two others, but even that was not enough to overcome the expert.
Cyclone was surprised to hear that all the champions were cheating and Liam felt similar when he learned that Cyclone and Fortune managed to free themselves without Balm's help.
Soon, Quickstep, Silent Acacia, and Watchful Eye also arrived in quick succession, telling of their own experiences.
Quickstep entered in a swordfight where her opponent's swords were multiple times heavier. Quickstep was at a disadvantage during each clash, but she won by leveraging her speed.
Silent Acacia challenged a champion in shooting at targets whereas his targets moved way faster than the champion's. It actually took him two tries to win.
Lastly, Watchful Eye fought a champion in a battle of staffs where the first to get hit would lose. Despite his enemy's attempt at cheating by using a longer staff, Watchful Eye still managed to achieve a victory through pure skill.
The friends walked through the barren land of the Southern Wasteland, telling their stories, embellishing their achievements. They soon noticed the lack of players on the road. The few people they came across were in a rush, heading towards the Southern Chaotic Mountains.
"Seems like our diversion worked better than anticipated."
Liam appeared thoughtful as he stared into the distance. His gaze seemed to bridge the vast land, falling directly on a certain valley in the Southern Chaotic Mountain.
Here, thousands of players had gathered. At first the attraction of the world boss was indeed not that strong. The ones preparing for a hunt were mostly the major guilds and they even tried to keep others out. But when everyone arrived at the valley, they were shocked to find guilds from the opposing faction. After a few clashes the situation escalated from being a struggle for a world boss to a war between the two factions.
"Charge! Charge! Follow Wave of Bones!"
"We have the numbers advantage! Infernal brothers, let's throw those order faction losers out!"
"Bring them hell!"
Players of the chaos faction roared as they swarmed the valley. They indeed had the number advantage thanks to the appearance of a few of their top guilds. Graveyard of Heroes were the first to arrive with 600 players. Blood and Bones, 400 players. Utility, 500 players. Spear of Doom, 550 players.
Of course, even the top guilds couldn't instantly mobilize all their players, but the situation on the order faction's side looked even worse. Galaxy arrived with 350 players, Infinito with 300, The Only Way with 400. Meanwhile Dream Avenue, Force of Nature, and Nest of Flames were completely absent.
Nevertheless, the order faction players continued to fight fiercely. Among them stood famous figures like Knight of Honor, a hero among ordinary players, Star Gazer, and Mountain Lord. But in such a large-scale war of thousands they alone couldn't make much difference. It was their ability to command others which was really valuable.
"Boss, another fifty players have agreed to follow your command."
"Ok organise them in team 21, let them send a captain to the group chat!"
Mountain Lord wiped the sweat from his forehead. He didn't join the fray but instead commanded from behind, moving teams to protect each other, telling the mages where to concentrate fire. From his position he could clearly see that the order faction was on the losing end, continuously being pushed back. The entrance to the world boss's prison was firmly held by the chaos faction.
The burly dwarf couldn't help but frown. He didn't understand what Dream Avenue, Nest of Flames, and Force of Nature were doing. Even if they each only sent a hundred players it would already be great to stabilize the situation. Just as he considered messaging Cyclone, movement came into the order faction players. Mountain Lord looked towards a pass to the right and finally noticed the arrival of the three guilds seemingly with about a thousand players.
"It's Dream Avenue!"
"Finally! It's time to beat those chaos dogs back!"
"Haha, our reinforcements have arrived!"
Final Fend sat on top of his basilisk, proudly sticking out his chest. He wore heavy black-red armor, and the sun was right behind his back, giving him an incredibly heroic aura. He basked in the attention of hundreds, even thousands of players. He had reached the pinnacle of life!
Suddenly a palm landed on the back of his head.
"Kiddo! We got a job to do!"
"Damn, old man. You are destroying my moment!"
Braag only laughed. Final Fend turned his head away and focused back on the task at hand. Under his lead Dream Avenue, Force of Nature, and Nest of Flames strolled down the mountain.