Fallen Fate Online

Zayne stood at the pillar with his arms crossed and his eyes closed. Luis examined the key as sparks appeared in his eyes. He didn\'t know exactly what the key was for, but it was obvious to him that it had something to do with the finale.

Gradually the platforms were activated. Several players were able to make it through the trial, but they were all hurt badly enough, and only one pair came back together. Jane and Dave were among the last, and like Luis, they too returned alone.

"Well, well, it looks like the second stage was a lot harder than the first, wasn\'t it?" Luis smirked as he looked at the others.

"You all got a key each, right?" Jane asked with a wave of her hand.

Dave nodded, showing the key, "Yeah... but I don\'t know what to do with it at all..."

"Neither do we!" The girl and the guy exclaimed, pulling out their keys.

Jane looked around the entire battlefield and muttered, "Out of seventeen people, there are only eight left... Damn, that\'s bad. If our reward depends on the keys, we\'re missing out on a big payoff..."

"Maybe we should move on." Zayne uttered in a cold voice.

Jane frowned, "I\'m ready, but where do you think we should go? There\'s no way through here!"

Zayne pointed in the direction as all eyes fell on the stone slab above with a faintly visible blue energy.

Jane walked over to the slab, stepped on it, and the floor shook like an earthquake. The Players were slightly puzzled, they were worried that something bad would happen, and the rest were just waiting.

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

eαglesnᴏνel From beneath the ground slowly emerged a stone structure, resembling a crypt with a massive gate. All Jane had to do was touch it, and the passage slowly opened, letting out streams of wind with an eerie aura.

"Shit... Do we really have to go that way...?" The young man muttered a frightened expression.

"Hah, there\'s no need to be afraid. Apparently, a boss is waiting for us there, so it\'s a great opportunity to get valuable rewards." Luis smirked before walking confidently forward. The passage was deep and dark, but that didn\'t stop him in the least.

Jane and Dave looked at each other, then they followed him. The remaining three players hesitated slightly, but they had no other choice anyway. Zayne was the last one left.

\'Is that where I need to go down...? How strange, can the light of the moon reach there?\' Zayne muttered inwardly, looking at the night sky as well as his ring, \'I still don\'t know how to use it or if it\'s even possible...\'

Zayne shook his head, walked towards the crypt, and went down. Just as he stepped onto the first level, the massive gates rattled shut, as if to let them know there was no turning back.

Crackle.

Jane lit a torch, illuminating the dark passage, but they saw nothing but empty walls and seemingly endless stairs.

Everyone was silent, no one wanted to break the silence as they all waited impatiently for what awaited them at the end.

Step. Step. Step.

After an unknown amount of time, eight silhouettes emerged from the passage. Cold drops of water dripped from the ceiling, crashing to the ground as dozens of blue torches were lit all around the perimeter.

The dim light left room for shadows, but it was enough to reveal the massive silhouette in the center.

"Hah, that looks like the boss." Luis said confidently with an excited expression.

"Damn... It looks scary... but why do I feel like it\'s not alive...?" Dave muttered in confusion.

"Well, because you\'re right." Jane shrugged.

They stared at the huge, stone Ent that stood motionless. It was a massive, living tree with broad arms and branches on its shoulders and head, seemingly capable of tearing down several houses in a single swing of this monster.

"Hey... What\'s that?" One of the Players muttered as he turned around.

There were eight massive bowls hanging over pedestals against the walls, next to the passageway. Each pedestal had a keyhole in it.

"I don\'t know, but I think everyone understands why they are here. If you don\'t mind, I\'ll go first!" Luis stepped forward, took out a key, and inserted it into the first pedestal.

Whoooooooooooosh.

Luis\'s key broke as the fire burned brightly in the bowl. At the same moment, one rune lit up on Ent\'s chest.

[You have activated one of the bowls!]

[You can start fighting the boss right now! Or, you can activate other bowls, but each one will make the final boss harder!]

Jane inhaled as she touched her chin, "Well, just as I suspected. What do we do?"

"Maybe activate three or four bowls?" The player suggested, "I think that would be enough to get a decent reward."

"Yeah, I agree." The girl next to him nodded, "We shouldn\'t be too greedy. One must always strike a balance."

It seemed that the decision had already been made, but the Players hadn\'t considered the one fact that they weren\'t the ones deciding everything here.

Tap.

A silhouette appeared behind them, as Luis put his hands on their shoulders, squeezing tightly, so much that they felt pain.

"Hey... I hate to be rude, but I don\'t think you understand something." Luis narrowed his eyes like a snake whispering, "We don\'t have a democracy here, but rather a dictatorship. You have no say, and if you don\'t want to obey, there\'s nothing stopping me from taking your keys from you, is there?"

The girl and the guy didn\'t answer anything, they just flinched and nodded quickly.

"In that case, it\'s settled." Jane shrugged, and everyone took turns inserting the keys.

The bowls lit up one by one, gradually making Ent, or, the final boss stronger. Luis, Dave, and Jane weren\'t worried that their enemy might be too strong, they had to get the maximum.

"You\'re next." Jane approached Zayne with a stern expression. 

"Sure." Zayne nodded and tossed her the key. Jane frowned but didn\'t say anything.

All the while, the others were lighting the bowls, Zayne stared intently at one point, as behind Ent, something caught his attention.

The darkness carefully concealed it, but Zayne\'s sharp gaze clearly saw the ruined moon sign on the wall as well as a tiny notch that fit his ring perfectly.