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Local Announcement!
Void - Level ?? HP ??
The dreaded world ender is finally here. Just his presence, the stink of his breath, the smell of blood on his clothes is enough to drive even the most stalwart mad.
Morale Failure: 75% Chance
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Residents began to run.
Silf, Human, Dwarven, and even the heroic Half all turned and started to stream past startled Transients as they fled. People were trampled outright be they Resident or Transient. Skrilla, resplendent and brave, turned and jumped over the lines of those fleeing and darted with terrifying quickness. She reached out with her long neck and bit the hand of the creature that was Void. She hung in the air with her death grip, even as her eyes widened when she realized he didn’t appear to feel her weight at all.
Void looked down, and suddenly his health bars came into view. There were over 20, with the last one ending in a terrifying ellipses. This indicated that he had far more health bars than he was currently showing and she hadn’t even managed to damage him past his viewable health. With contemptuous ease he flexed and waved his hand, throwing her to the ground in front of him. Snarling, she leapt to her feet and… was immediately stepped on. She looked up at him with shock and horror and he raised a hand high over his head. A dark lance appeared from nothing and then just as quickly stabbed down. Skrilla was dead just like that.
Victoria shrieked in pain and horror and cried out. “TO ME!”
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Local Announcement - Half Queen’s Rage.
Half Morale in vicinity upgraded to Valiant
Half Health in vicinity upgraded to +50%
Aura of Vienne - Half stats increased by 100%
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The tiny dark haired warrior leapt through the ranks of the enemy even as fleeing Half checked their retreat and shouted that they would protect their queen. Victoria ran forward and immediately fell out of view as she was swarmed by the enemy. From the way the lizardman and wolfman enemies were being thrown about they were merely slowing her charge. Bodies literally flew through the air such was her rush.
Keristrazly suddenly appeared, descending from above Void and dropping down on him. He was met with one hand. Void reached up and grabbed his neck, throwing the gigantic dragon down in front of him. Keristrazly snarled at him, getting ready to loose an incredible breath of fire. To no avail. Moments later that same spear came down and shot through with blinding quickness both of his wings. Crying out in pain and suddenly crippled, Keristrazly limped back to his feet and leaned forward with great and terrible jaws, only to be met by the lance once more. Void laughed, even as he ignored Keristrazly who snarled against the lance between his teeth. Void dropped four orbs on the ground and then turned his attention back to the dragon.
Even as he toyed with the dragon tendrils of magic rent the air and started moving toward Transient and Resident alike. Khiafin was struck almost immediately, looking upward in shock and horror. He had one moment to glance back and Amelia met his gaze right before his character dropped to the ground, stone dead.
Just like in her nightmares Void started to sweep the area, destroying powerful Transients and Residents alike without even touching them. War and Raven had moved forward trying to get to Victoria and had unexpectedly been met with Void as the large towering creature moved with merciless swiftness through the crowd. Raven started to raise her sword to block the lance and realized the futility. She smiled bitterly as she braced herself as the lance came. Amazingly, it was War that leaped into the way. The warrior who had never died and might have been the single strongest Transient in the game only partially blocked the blow. He flew away, his body crumpling and his name pane indicating that he was viewing from his corpse.
Raven cried out and started to use her final form of overwhelm before she too fell in a single stroke almost too fast and terrifying to see. Forsythe howled somewhere nearby when he saw this, and equally chilling was his cry of terror when Hunter was caught by one of the magical tendrils and fell stone dead at his feet. He threw himself at Void and was met swift death when the world ender simply turned to him and used the first spell of the day. “[Gravity Increase]”.
Forsythe fell to his knees, unable to move, and the dark lance swept down. Even as Victoria howled nearby and struggled to engage the world ender he moved away, as if she were beneath his notice. Again and again his lance fell and the reports Amelia were getting took on a different tone.
“100% fatality from Tree.”
“Everyone from Deadline is gone.”
“Panda and Fett are both reporting total losses.”
“Razor is reporting 60% losses but notes that the enemy trash is also succumbing to the effect, recommend…”
It was almost over in minutes. Between Void leisurely stalking through the ranks and the terrible magic of the orbs striking everyone down, it wasn’t long before, suddenly, almost no one was left on the field. She picked out someone who was dead nearby, trying to ignore the fact that it was someone she knew.
“Examine Rat.”
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Special Effect: Forced to Watch
Effect: Those struck dead cannot resurrect or leave their bodies until the encounter ends.
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Void wasn’t letting them escape. He was keeping them all bound even in death so they were forced to watch this end. It made sense tactically. The Transients who died might resurrect in a cathedral and then use Chronicler’s to return to the battle otherwise.
Just as she was admiring his choice she felt a strange sort of weight on her body. Amelia grunted and fell to her knees. She wasn’t the only one. Nearby she could see Mardin and Oresdin and Hermania suffering under a similar effect. It didn’t take long to wonder what was going on. Amelia was lifted from the ground and was pulled toward Void even as shouts started to ring out near her. Hands grasped but were unable to pull her down as she and the other Hero Kings and Queens were pulled toward Void.
Moments later they were all in front of him, kneeling and unable to move. Void had actually pulled them on top of the ocean so they could have some space. They all hung there over the water. Victoria had appeared as well, also seemingly unable to avoid the unstoppable force that had compelled and thrown them through the air at Void. It just seemed to be them though. The battle raged behind them as furious Transients and Residents tried to push their way forward. Amelia saw that Aidan had activated signature spell that literally disintegrated everything around him. He was striding toward them with grim purpose. She had never seen him look so terrifyingly angry. He could only walk though and he was far away.
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“Look now, upon the ruin you have caused. It is not too late though. This world is fantastic! That I might be met with such fervor and frantic defense everywhere I go!” Void laughed then, and Amelia got her first real look at him. He was tall. Larger again than Vienne by a magnitude. Skeletal body and a skull that burned with murder and intelligence. He took his time looking down upon them before at last turning to Victoria. He raised a finger and she floated free from the ground, bound by some inexplicable invisible force. She looked furious. “Will you not consider again, small queen? A small tithe and I shall leave you to grow and to continue to propagate. Who knows, next time I may even not be a match for you?” His words were like worms in her skull.
“Was your creature not able to deliver his message?” Victoria asked breathlessly.
“He fled.” Void said simply, without any real anger. Mourning had apparently run away rather than face Void even as an ally.
Amelia closed her eyes, already knowing the outcome. She couldn’t watch this.
“…” Victoria rasped, barely able to breathe this close to him. “I think you will regret your decision not to follow his example. MONSTER.”
“So unwise.” Void made a hand gesture and Victoria crumpled into a ball of unrecognizable material. Her body exploded into pixels indicating she had been well and truly destroyed within the game.
A shrill cry rent the air and suddenly Keristrazly lurched from behind. He bit down with tremendous force, his eyes filled with madness. Without looking Void reached back and grabbed the great red dragon by the neck. A cracking sound ensued and Keristrazly fell beneath the waters, broken and disintegrating.
Cries of terror and anger came from the Hero Kings and Queen as Mardin and Oresdin and Hermania all struggled to attack him. Hatred was so thick in their eyes Amelia didn’t know how she could ever have doubted them. They had just watched their friend Victoria die, the best of them, and now struggled to throw their lives away. Void mercilessly broke them in rapid succession. Only Amelia remained.
Void lifted her into the air with his invisible magic and turned her so she could watch the rest of the scene play out on the shore. Already the guilds were falling. With each death Amelia felt herself calmly detaching. She had seen this in her nightmare so many times now that she was afraid that it didn’t affect her at all. When the last Transient fell, silence reigned on the field. Time passed as even the creatures that appeared began to succumb to Void’s magical effect. Soon it was just him and her. Or at least thats what it appeared to be. There was someone left on the far shore who was battling ever increasing droves of minions exiting from the vortexes. It was Aidan. God love the man he was somehow avoiding Voids deathknell.
“Do you know why you are the last?” He asked, almost gently, obviously already discounting Aidan. “Because my magic tells me you were the fool that orchestrated this… rebellion. Like a child railing at a parent.”
“Lucky me.” Amelia muttered, surprised at her own stupid courage even as she closed her eyes and waited. When death, virtual or otherwise, did not come she opened them again to see Void peering at her.
“[Cancel - Rule Breaker].” He said at last. Some effect he had seemed to be wearing dissipated and Amelia suddenly realized that all his health bars had diminished to a mere five. Whatever he had cancelled must have been the equalizer he used to defeat a great number of enemies. Content that he had destroyed her, he wanted her to see that he didn’t even need that to deal with her now.
“Now that is truly cocky.” Amelia said, an idea forming among a million other convoluted ideas.
“As the last, you are allowed to make a final comment. I will remember.” Void let her drop to the surface of the water. Through his magic or the fact that this was the last world event of the game, she didn’t sink below the depths but instead stood atop the surface of the ocean. Gentle swells lapped at her feet. When she looked down toward the mirror surface her own expression surprised her a great deal. Instead of despair or horror she was grinning. That grin in that creepy way. She was really kind of creepy, she finally admitted to herself, when she smiled like that. She felt relieved that her last face in this world wasn’t the one of horror from her nightmares. She grinned then, feeling so relieved that she couldn’t even put it in words. She looked back at him with that carefree smile. If he thought it was strange or creepy he didn’t comment. Her gaze pierced him, and she slowly felt the elation leave her body.
“Is there anyone left?” She asked over the party channel. Then she asked over the Shadow Fall guild channel. When silence met her she finally used all the contacts she had been given for the grand crusade. Silence met her query. Everyone was dead. They hovered over their corpses as indistinct presences, watching, but unable to react. Amelia couldn’t even see Aidan anymore through the mass of teeming enemy on the shore. He was most likely dead.
Finally, deciding that she was probably exhausting Void’s patience, she turned toward him. “I am ready to give my final comment.”
“Proceed.” Void shrugged, as if even this were beneath him.
“I have been thinking about the nature of magic.” Amelia said honestly. “In a world, the world I am from, magic doesn’t exist. In this world magic is a representation of words and ideas. Thoughts and images provoked from our mana, from our life force, that impose our will. I was thinking about how limited my magic really is. How much greater the world is and how much there is yet to be discovered.” Amelia turned toward him and took a few steps forward as if she were standing next to an old close friend.
Void did not retreat nor look concerned by her words nor the nearness to which she stood so she decided to continue. “I was just thinking that you, enemy, seem to have reached a point that I can’t fathom. Yet there are still so many things that you haven’t experienced, learned, or even know of or you wouldn’t be standing there so comfortably.”
“Spoken like the loser.” Void decided after some thought. “Your last breath harkens. Speak that we may end this.”
“Mourning isn’t here, and that means that for whatever brief moment he was here in the past, he decided that you were an existence that could be beaten. Don’t worry. I’ll beat him for you. You see, I don’t think you’re going to be there.” Amelia pronounced suddenly. “Magic is so incredibly vague sometimes. I can transform stone, for instance. Yet what is a stone? Rock? Marble? Granite? Sometimes even the word stone is vague.” Amelia paused and turned toward the shore where meters away his magic life gathering orbs lay. “For instance. [Transform Stone].”
Void peered at where she pointed but did not react. Why would he?
“It takes a second,” Amelia said grandly. She spread her arms apart and grinned. “I think you should kill me now before I destroy you.”
Void, with great grace and eloquence, reached forward and destroyed her. With a single hand he cast some sort of spell that entirely undid her body and life. Just like that, Amelia was dead.
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Local Announcement - You have died.
Lost: 5% base stats(Temporary Weakness)
Lost: 12 levels.
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Death was strange, Amelia decided. She had never died on such a grand scale nor with so many party members before. She stood, as smoke, looking over her own body. When she looked over at the shore once more she saw that there were a great many people much as she milling about their own corpses. Aidan was the first to approach.
“Got a plan?” He finally asked. His brow quirked as if he couldn’t believe that she had just gone down like that.
“Yes. Will you hold my hand?” Amelia reached for him, and was saddened when his hand passed through hers instead of meeting it. Stupid death.
“Sorry.” He apologized. He looked past her at Void and she saw the fingers tighten around his staff. “I’ll be going now.”
“No. It’s ok. Stand with me. We’re going to watch the world end.” Amelia turned and watched. “I don’t need you to save me.”
“We will watch together.” Forsythe put a hand on Amelia’s shoulder. The hand surprised her. Amelia looked to Aidan with a question in her eyes but never got the chance to ask.
Already the sky darkened and started to flicker. It almost looked like the sun was going out. Everywhere as far as the eye could see strange illuminations and visual effects were happening as things just vanished from existence. In the end, Void was the last standing. Even he flickered and disappeared.
“What happened?” Aidan asked. He was standing stock-still as if he couldn’t make sense of anything he was seeing.
“The world died. Since this world is a game generated for players then it makes sense that Void is also no longer needed.” Amelia explained calmly.
“That was a bit premature, wasn’t it?” Aidan made a face. "I hadn't even saved the day."
“It’s ok. I’m waiting for a laugh. Then I know everything will be okay.” Amelia whispered. "This was never a one-man show."