The Game Before the Fall

Chapter 54: Dancing in palms. (Part 1)

Chapter 54: Dancing in palms.

3 years after the Fall:

"Where the hell even are we?" Vanter asked as he looked up to the red sky. "We even on Earth anymore?

Greg chuckled, "Who knows, perhaps we have entered another plane."

"Oh, shut it both of you," Quyen glared at them. "We're on Earth... right Ardent?"

I looked at them and shrugged, "Honestly I don't know." We stood overlooking the ocean metres away from the edge of a high cliff. Behind us was a vast plane of dull red rock with the occasional outcrop. It was a mystery to where we were, and I couldn't remember any place on Earth being like it.

"Ya don't think that blast pushed us Rift ways do ya?" Shin grumbled and raised his brow. "Hey Aria, you feel any tingles going on?"

"Tingles, Shin?" Aria laughed at him. "I don't feel any tingles. In fact, I don't feel anything really. There's mana... but it feels stagnant. Ardy, what's the plan?"

I frowned, "Well we have three options, walking, swimming or getting Aria to teleport us elsewhere."

Vanter raised his hand high, "I vote teleportation."

"Tch," Shin eyed him, "No sense of adventure today, Elf?"

"Adventure?" Vanter repeated mockingly, "Do you think walking a thousand miles on what looks like dead rock is 'Adventure'? Get your beard checked dwarf."

"Mah beard is fine," he pulled at his beard only for some small stones to fall out. "Oh, never mind it could use a wash."

The rest of us were very much used to their banter. The moment they stopped the banter we'd know things we wrong. I looked to Aria who had her hand on the ground, eyes closed and focused.

"What is it?" I asked.

"I'm not sure. I feel something beneath us, it feels alive," her expression twisted in confusion. "But at the same time, not alive like us."

"Alive like a Rift Walker?"

"No," she shook her head. "It's different. I think this warrants checking."

I clapped my hands loudly and gathered the group again, "Okay new option. There's something beneath us. So, we either walk, swim, teleport or dig."

"Scratch the teleportation," Aria frowned. "My control of space here keeps getting interfered with. Something is stopping that particular mana from forming."

"Okay, so it's just walk, swim or dig. Hands up for digging."

All hands went up.

"Well then, might as well get started." Who would have guessed. When we left our dungeon to go on a so-called quest to discover hope, I don't think any of us thought we'd be digging through solid rock.

**

Aria Friend:

I stood over a squarely laid out set of unconscious bodies. Beside me was Agent Wester and Chloe, one of the maids of Elastire. On the other end of the bodies were the agents of the Violet Oath who had gone undercover. Right now, all across the world we were raiding their mansions and hiding holes. This was already my third run and soon I'd whisk away to another.

"Another dead end," Agent Wester sighed. "This guy was even lower ranked than the last one. He was a decent player in the festival but far from a VIP. From the interrogation, he got lucky and was able to hire from top of the board."