Year 23 SPA (Since Player Arrival)
I watched the battle from above, it wasn’t a battle, to be honest, it was a massacre, in front of me, were the last dregs of the Purification of Honour Guild combined with the Bluefall Alliance and the Darkbreaker’s Guild, for the first time in years they were working together. All three of them had made their home in the three central volcanoes at the heart of the continent, they were currently fighting with the Goon’s the fourth largest guild. The Goon’s had made their home on the Dwarven Isle's, two weeks ago the Goon’s had led an attack into the heart of the continent almost their entire player-base almost half a million players standing in between the three volcanoes surrounded by the three other guilds, they started casting a spell. The other guilds didn’t react if they attacked the Goon’s it would leave their base vulnerable and the other two guilds would sweep in. It took almost a day for the spell to be completed. When it did the earth its self-shook, even I myself, a thousand miles away on the Dwarven Isle's felt the pressure wave. The force of a supervolcano erupting, Gaia’s tears they called it. The pyroclastic flow wiped out almost all life on the continent, but the real threat came from the burning ash in the air, when it landed in a weeks’ time, everyone outside would burn. I talked to a geology teacher in RL, they predicted that the surface would be uninhabitable for at least four hundred years. So, when the guild respawned with their bases aflame, many spawning trapped over a pit of lava, those that had respawned in a safe location united. The continual guilds made an alliance, they would attack the Dwarven Isle's eradicated the Goon’s and take the last survivable area for themselves. So, we come to today a mismatched army made of almost eight million players armed with loincloths and copper daggers, the army had been marching for almost a week to reach here, they were tired, hot and half blinded by the ash. Opposing them was a force half million strong, made up of knights, wizards and paladins, wearing full plate armour, the initial charge of the Alliance into the Goon’s ranks was a massacre. Knowing that the wizards would be useless in the melee, an entire battalion of almost one hundred thousand wizards held back standing higher above the hill, behind the Knights and Paladins shield wall. They knew that once the melee began it would become too risky to cast spells into the line, when the disorganised charge of the alliance began the wizards started firing, firing every spell they had, it was a massacre I reckon almost two million players of the alliance died in the initial barrage. Then the lines connected six million alliance members collided with four hundred thousand knights of Goon’s. The fight was long, and it was bloody, for the first four hours the Goon’s were doing well slaying almost another two million members of the alliance, the Goon’s lost almost eighty thousand but with a nearby spawn point, they were able to be back in the fight within an hour of death. It was looking hopeful for the Goon’s but they had made one massive mistake, they hadn’t kept the ice wizards separate they were all out of mana, the ground normally a hard set stone was drowned in blood, the field of battle became slippery for the unarmoured alliance this was not an issue but for the heavily armed Goon’s it became deadly, maybe a hundred ice wizards could have frozen the ground and saved the Goon’s but it was not to be. The heavily armed knight, slipped and fell into the bloody mud where they were set upon by large groups of alliance members, it didn’t take long before the left flank fell allowing the alliance to stream through the gap running one hundred meters up the hill and entering into the spawn zone boundary, changing their respawn zone to the Goon’s base.
Darkness descended it was almost midnight, the battle was no longer combat, ragging for almost eight hours at this point, it had descended into a chaotic mess of combat, were once lines had been drawn now a massive melee took place, players fighting all over the base, at some point the alliance had broken down, each guild was fighting each other in a chaotic free for all. It was rare now to see anyone armoured, a few had swords that they had managed to loot in a moment of respite, but those wearing armour had quickly been focused and killed. From my vantage point above in the mountains, I looked up the moon was high it was almost midnight.
Announcement:
It has been twenty-four years, for twenty-four years I watched, for twenty-four years I held my hand, but it is enough. this is enough. You have burned the world, slaying all life upon it, you have burned the land, leaving this world nothing but ash. I have had enough I made this system so my people might prosper you have turned it into a blackened thing twisting its meaning.
Announcement:
A god Malus had descended
Announcement:
A god Astrave had descended
Announcement:
Your access to the system had been revoked.
As I saw the final notifications, I immediately tried to pull up my interface, nothing no response, as I look up at the heavens above, two large pillars of light descended, crashing into the ground below, to the east of the valley on the other side, stood a large woman, almost ten meters tall she was as large a giant as looked at her a golden halo surrounding her, she was wearing the purest of white silk dress billowing around her. Standing around her was a host, almost a hundred men and women, wearing golden armour with wings sporting out of their backs, they all had weapons drawn. Below me almost four hundred meters away a similar scene was playing out but instead of a woman a giant man, stood clasped in golden armour, with a host of angles at his feet
Announcement:
Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.
You have done well my children, by bringing you from your world into this , you have done my will, you have burnt the land and brought about the Truth to the world, all that begins with death shall end with death, I will not allow you to fall this day you have done my work so well, I shall descend myself and shall battle Malus, but know when I walking this land, death shall take its natural course, those of you that die shall not ‘respawn’ as you say, if you desire victory, slay Astgrave and I shall reward you, I shall reward you with a new world.
Announcement:
A god Nevermore had descended
As the Announcement flashed in my vision, a massive crack appeared dark and blackened up from it climbed a giant, he wore armours made of a metal so dark it seemed to absorb the light, as he drew his sword he charged at the god in front of him, batting aside the angels that rose up to meet him, as Malus met his blade a gigantic clap strung up across the valley, I would like to say that I could follow what was happening, that I witnessed this epic clash between gods, but the fighting was happening with such force with such power, that a cloud of ash rose up blocking my view. I started to move skating along the ridge of the mountain trying to move to a better position, taking care to not highlight myself in the skyline. It took almost half an hour to move over the rough and rocky terrain, down into the valley below, as I rounded a large boulder I received my first real look at the combat in that time, Astrave was wading thought players hacking them down with long streaks of her sword, Malus and Nevermore where still battling, throwing up massive clouds of dust, the biggest difference was to the players and the angels were previously there had been forty angels I at the god’s feet now there were none. I saw a number of bodies broken and battered lying around. Earlier almost two and a half million players had been battling now no more than a thousand remained. The majority of the players had formed up in the Keeps gate, standing there with weapons drawn. Malus, armours was broken and battered, at some point, both he and Nevermore’s helmet had been removed, a large gash had been opened is Malus' chest, and his left arm was hanging limply at this side bleeding a golden ichor. I saw as Astrave moved into the gateway standing in front of the mass of players, she stood there for a moment her hand pointing towards the players, a golden glow filled her hand and launched towards the players. Just as the energy left her hand a BOOM sounded out of the gate. I span to look at the sound to see the gate collapsing the players and Astrave crushed beneath. As I scanned around, I saw Astrave’s prone form, below a pile of rocks, but as I moved closers, I saw a group of seven players, run towards her. I could do nothing but watch from my viewpoint four hundred meters away, one of the players ran towards her, in his hands one of the blades the angels had arrived with. I watched standing there helplessly as the blade plunged towards her spearing her through the heart. I felt the blast of energy, burn into my flesh as the very essence of a god died.
“̷̡̭̫̤̣̀͑̽̉̃́͒̂̏̆̒̈́̀̀̕Ṇ̷̨̢̛͓͕̙̘̰̠̫̤̬̲̥̌͗̇͑̏͑̄̋͘̕͠͠O̵͍͉͉̜͗̿͋͠O̴͚͈̗̟͓͐͗̾̓̒̈́̚͝Ǒ̶̯̤̲̪͎̇͊͐̉͗̚ͅO̶̢̧̧͔͎̲͓͎̥̫̬̣̯̭̿̄̿̆̿̋͊̓̏̽͋͘͝O̵͉̪̹̍ͅO̵̤͔̮̪͗͗̋̑̅̑O̷̩͎̤̖͔̣̦̖̩͍̠͍͌̿̋͋͂̀̎̔͆͌̋̓̆̈́͜͠O̶̡̹̬̮͋̉̅̽̉̒̏̒̐́” ̶̱͔͙̪̆̈́̓͐̾͗ I heard a voice scream in voice so beautiful, so old,
As I heard the scream as I looked over towards the sound, I saw Malus staring at his sister's body, and then I saw it the black blade of Nevermore plunging towards his neck making use of his distraction. I felt the second blast then, stronger as for a second time that day I watched the golden essence of a god explode outwards.
I stood there crouched behind that rock looking across the battlefield, there were maybe twelve players still left standing scattered around the battlefield,
I saw Nevermore lift his head and open his mouth
“̶w̴e̸l̸l̵ ̸d̸o̷n̴e̵ ̷m̴y̸ ̷c̵h̴i̴l̸d̵r̶e̷n̸,̷ ̸y̷o̴u̴ ̶h̸a̴v̶e̴ ̵d̸o̴n̶e̸ ̶y̶o̷u̵r̷ ̴r̷o̶l̸e̷ ̷m̵o̸s̵t̴ ̶e̸x̸c̶e̵l̵l̵e̷n̷t̵l̴y̴,̷ ̵f̵o̶r̵ ̶y̵o̶u̴r̵ ̴r̸e̸w̶a̶r̴d̵ ̸I̷ ̵s̷h̶a̴l̵l̴ ̴g̷r̵a̶n̷t̸ ̶y̵o̶u̴ ̸a̵ ̸n̴e̵w̶ ̴w̶o̵r̷l̷d̸,̴ ̷a̵ ̵n̵e̶w̵ ̷w̴o̴r̴l̷d̸ ̴t̵o̵ ̷e̶x̵p̸l̷o̴r̷e̸ ̷t̵o̴ ̷d̷i̶s̵c̷o̸v̶e̴r̶"̶ he said
His voice was dark, like listening to a thousand knives, its very voice filled me with a sense of dread. We had destroyed this world, at first, the players were known as Travellers, now we were known as the Scourge, our ways had destroyed this world and now we were going to another world, another world to burn more innocents to slaughter, NO, NO MORE” I muttered under my breath, I would not watch another world die, if this god was going to open another world to the scourge, I was going to stop him. He was standing in front of me almost one hundred meters, standing there with his back towards me. I ran I ran towards him casting spells as I moved.`
̴͎͕̓͆͝B̷̧̻̮̝̀l̷͙̟͚̣̀̈́̄̕ȩ̵͔̉̍͋̿ș̵̓̈͝s̴̗̩̝̪͐̔̇ ̶̛͖͙̫̓̿b̶̗̬̔ͅl̷̙̍ả̴̲̈́̅͋͜d̷͓̘͚̺͋̅̈́̋e̸̢̖͗
"̵̩̫́̎̽͠Q̵̛͍̤̺̊͐͠ù̶̼̤͇̝̊̆ḭ̸̡̇̈́̓c̴̛̳͎̅̈̋̌k̵̘͎̥̪͙͒͗ ̶̹͉̳̓́͠ͅs̷̻̱͌̃̽͛t̷̥̮̱͗̈͐̓ͅe̶͕̓̕p̴̝̦̈͘"̶͚̘͔̟̯̂̈́̕͝
"̷̧̺̹̱̈͊F̸͎̺̙̎l̶͎̥͉̻̙̋̇̀̓̈́̽̄̚y̴̯͔̾̈̓̏͌̔͘
As I ran forward casting as many spells as I could, I felt faster, quicker, the sword felt lighter in my hands, as I ran forward I felt the mana leave my body, my sword began to glow, at first the dull sheen of a blessed blade, but then brighter, glowing green then blue, before turning a darkish purple, as I reached within twenty meters of him I cast fly sending my self-flying up towards his head. He heard me then turning around to look at me but it was too late. My blade plunged into his throat tearing a massive gash across it. As I sailed past I felt the blast of energy hit me, sending me flying, I crashed into the ground falling in a heap, the black and gold essence of the gods was mixing, interconnecting, juddering and heating up, as I looked at it I pushed my self up and ran towards the collapse gate leaping over the broken body of Ashgrove, as I looked back I saw the energy coalesce into a ball, I saw the players behind me the twelve of them running towards me hoping to take shelter within the walls as I had,
I readied up magic pushing it into my fingers
“L̵̥͖͕̫̎ȉ̷̗̱͇͕g̷̭͍̘̩̈́h̸̠̲́t̴̗̣̬͂i̴͚͗͊̀n̴͇͍͖͗͝g̴̛̣͂̈́́ ̴͇̹̋͠B̶̛̤͘͝ó̸͕̊̔l̸͇̓̓͝t̵͍͕̀̈”
“L̵̥͖͕̫̎ȉ̷̗̱͇͕g̷̭͍̘̩̈́h̸̠̲́t̴̗̣̬͂i̴͚͗͊̀n̴͇͍͖͗͝g̴̛̣͂̈́́ ̴͇̹̋͠B̶̛̤͘͝ó̸͕̊̔l̸͇̓̓͝t̵͍͕̀̈”
I shot two lightning bolts into them foaling the last of my mana leave me, as I watch the bolts arc and crash into them, spreading from player to player downing eight of them, the last four ran on, running state at me, I reached into my bandolier drawing two of my throwing knives, with my left hand I threw them, one of the struck true, but at the last second the target of the second knife dodged to the right, as the three came closer I readied my blade, sweeping out to the right cutting one of them across the stomach, the other two stepped in stabbing towards me, I dodged back avoiding the first dagger but the second one grazed my flank biting thought my leather amour cutting into my ribs, I leapt back and brought my left hand to bare.
"L̵̥͖͕̫̎ȉ̷̗̱͇͕g̷̭͍̘̩̈́h̸̠̲́t̴̗̣̬͂i̴͚͗͊̀n̴͇͍͖͗͝g̴̛̣͂̈́́ ̴͇̹̋͠B̶̛̤͘͝ó̸͕̊̔l̸͇̓̓͝t̵͍͕̀̈"
The mana tore through me, I felt the pain as my health pool drop as I overcast my mana, the bolt slammed into the player in front of me sending him flying back, but I was still out of position the others players knife flew towards me, knowing I couldn’t block or dodge I did the only thing I could I stepped into the blade as it punched a hole into my stomach, as the pain ripped through me, I drew my sword stabbing into the player still holding the knife embedded in my stomach, as his head toppled to the floor so did I, I collapsed to the ground, holding my blade looking towards the pulsing orb of godly power. As my vision greyed out, just before I closed my eyes, I saw it explode expanding outwards to meet me as my eyes shut and I died.