The Game Before the Fall

Chapter 85: Alone and Awake (Part 2)

Ardent Friend:

"At the very least, I'll stop you here," I glared at Kazu as he looked down on me.

"Try it," he grinned as if everything was going his way, as if everything in his life had been leading to this moment.

I faced the enormous Rift Walker. It was a Siege type Rank 10 Rift Walker. They were the creatures that had taken down entire cities by themselves. As I was now however, there was no way I could lose.

"Do you really think that will stop me Kazu?" the Void ignited within my body, channelling down the edge of the blade I held. "Tell me where my daughter is!"

Kazu cackled, "Don't worry, your daughter is safe. Now dear Ardent, you may not know, but this is being broadcasted all over the world. Try not to make a scene. As for the Rift Walker, beyond doubt I'd know you'd win. After all, in these past few days, you've grown exponentially stronger, haven't you?"

"Because of you! You start the Merge early, threw Areithia into Chaos, free the Wyvern King, try to turn people into demons and kidnap my daughter!"

"Yes, because of me," he smiled. "And now for your next test." With a flick of his wrist a small circular seed appeared in his hands. The World Tree's seed. Of course, he had it. The moment the Elven Matriarch said a seed had gone missing, I knew it must have been him.

"Ha!" I laughed spitefully. "Go ahead and eat it. It'll rip you the shreds from the inside out."

"Oh, I know that," he held the seed in his fingers, dancing it onto his knuckles playfully. "The demonic power of the Faceless King that runs in opposition to the World. I am not built so special like you to control both at once. But this isn't for me. Have you ever wondered what Rift Walkers are looking for? Simply put, it's the World."

With a casual flick he threw the seed down towards the Rift Walker, straight to where its gaping mouth reached out. I threw out the power of the Void I had been holding, intent to destroy the seed and the Rift Walker at the same time. Kazu however smirked and like before when I had used the Void against him, the space between us lengthened. Time wasn't against me side and though I tried, I couldn't stop the seed from entering the Rift Walkers gaping maw.

For a moment nothing happened but then all at once an incredible power burst from the Rift Walker. It was the intensity of the World released. The sand all around us was lifted and thrown about, cascading like a wave, and leaving the stone beneath bare. I grit my teeth, weathering the impact and as it cleared, witnessed the horror that Kazu had made.

The Rift Walker had condensed in size. Its enormous body was now only three metres tall. It stood on two legs, its curved spine straightened and standing like a humanoid. Folded blade like arms crossed its chest and the scorpion tail trailed down its back. The body that had protruded from its neck before stacked on top its torso, its head craning downwards upon a long neck. Its mouth no longer opened but had cracked into a chilling smile. It was unlike any other Rift Walker I had faced before. For now, it simply stood there, poised, and silent.

"Oh wow," Kazu grinned from where he floated in the skies above. "Believe it or not Ardent, I've seen a creature like this once before. Beyond rank 10. We called it the Apex and due to its summoning, Rift Walkers were drawn to the Empire eventually destroying it and Areithia. Quite a predicament, isn't it?"

I shivered. The Rift Walker hadn't even moved yet, and I could already feel the pressure. Death. My instincts were screaming to run but if I ran, where would it go? Where were the others? Aria, Zen, Vanter, Ana.... Endi. They should have been here the moment Kazu and the Rift Walker appeared, but despite it, I was alone.