To Kill Gods or Die Trying

Chapter 33-Castle of Glass

June 7th, 2302

"So, like, what do Mack and Havanna have us doing?" Rachel asks interested.

"Not just us. Every player," Margot corrects as we walk across the hot sand dunes of the Wildlands.

"That's, like, what I meant," Rachel snaps.

"Looks like we're late to the party!" Sess shouts above on his giant eagle. "A lot of the guys are already there!"

"Alright guys, double time," I order. We begin jogging—more like trudging through the feeble sand, to see a castle appearing over the horizon before we see the mass of players surrounding it.

"What is that?" Essej asks.

"Whatever it is, it's amazing," Alo replies impressed.

As we run, the tower comes closer for us to find out that it's made completely out of... sand!

"That is extremely impressive!" Cecelia cheers. I laugh in amazement. So this is where those two have been running off to. And here I thought they were lovers. Cringe!

"I don't know what's more badass: the size, the beautiful aesthetic, or the fact that it's made of sand and it's actually holding together," Pranav says.

We arrive at the scene where surrounding the castle are Druids, and Wizards and Spellcasters. Around them are all the players.

"Hey, listen up guys!" we hear Mack's voice boom. All chattering falls silent and attention is drawn to the ring of Druids and Wizards circling the sand castle. He must be using the magic megaphone I initially used.

"So, we're gathered here today to celebrate one thing: me being a badass!" he shouts. What is this idiot talking about?

"Give me that-" I hear Havanna mutter from close by.

"No, I was just joking," Mack explains.

"Be serious!" Havanna orders. Players chuckle.

Mack clears his throat. "OK. That was a joke. Anyways, I'm not as good at speeches as Ben is, somewhere in the crowd, but this is a tribute to our progress we've made here."

"Mention the other people," Havanna whispers loudly. "Do you wanna take this?" Mack snaps annoyed. "Yeah, give it here," Havanna snaps backs.

"No, I'm doing it," Mack refuses. We all begin to laugh. Maybe they are lovers. They fight like an old married couple.

"Give it, Mack. Stop being such a baby," Havanna orders annoyed. "Ow! OK, jeez, stop pinching me! Here! Damn!" Mack cries. We laugh hysterically. This is gold!

"Bro, I'm enjoying this so much," Sess wheezes.

"OK, not only do we want to attribute this monument to the 30 fighters who killed the demigods, but also everyone who supported us. Also thanks, to all the people working in the Capital to support everyone. Another round of thanks to all the guilds and people working to help one another out. It's awesome the community we've created here. You guys really are the base of our progress. Also, we'd like to thank everyone back in the real world for believing in us. Also-"

"We get it Hav, start the show already," Mack groans.

"OK, OK. Let's do it guys!" she cheers.

Start the show? Do what?

Flames erupt from the hands of the Druids and onto the sand castle. "Whoa, like, what are they doing?" Rachel cries.

"Blue firestorm!" hundreds of Gem-rank Druids yell in sync. Their flames explode out of their hands as blue as the sea and the shockwave kicks up sand and hot wind in every direction. There is so much fire that the air around us warms and the castle is consumed head-to-toe in the blue heat.

How much MP are these guys-

"OK, Wizards!" Havanna signals.

So that's why they're there. Hundreds of Wizards pair up each with a Druid, hover their palms against their Druid's back, and transfer their mana. The hundreds of Spellcasters standby.

The Druids continue to blast the castle. I bet the wind and force coming from the blast is holding the whole thing in place.

"Everyone get back! Clear the area!" Mack warns.

"What on Earth could they be doing now?" Cecilia asks as the thousands us run, including the Wizards who have depleted all of their magic into their Druid counterparts.

"Angelic Fire!" they all yell.

A shockwave—exponentially bigger than the last—sends energy out so quick and so hard that we have no time to shield our eyes. Most of us lose our balance and are blown to the floor, quickly rising again to see that all of the air around us is like the sandstorm of Anubis, except with the temperature of the Fire Dragon's breath.

So this is the power of Elementals. It's unreal. Finally, the beige haze begins to clear and the sight is even more awesome than before.

We see the sand castle now looking like a lava castle—glowing a bright yellow with a bright orange outline—but retaining its shape and aesthetic from the force of the upwards-pointed blowtorches circling 360 degrees. The thing is that. there is no fire to be seen—just violent heat waves radiating out of the hands of the Druids.

"Ho-ly Sand-castle-moly!" Pranav cries excitedly.

The Wizards all gather to the front of our massive crowd with their canes out. "C temporibus obdurare!" they all cry. 100 tier one spells shoot out from each of their canes, flooding the air with magic, and hit virtually every part of the molten castle. They all collapse on the ground, drained of magic. After the last spell makes contact with the glowing structure, the Druids stop streaming and collapse on the ground as well. The castle stands. It must have been a hardness spell, solidifying the semi-solid mass. Everyone is speechless. This truly is amazing. I've never seen the game being used in such a way.

The Spellcasters on standby come to the rescue, draining their MP to the fallen Druids. They all groggily stand up, compose themselves and finish their art. Each of them procures a massive stream of water, then bring it together as a cylinder around the glowing castle.

As soon as the colossal body of water makes contact with the castle, it cools immediately, crystallizing inside. The cylinder makes its way down to the base. Collectively, they freeze the water where it floats, creating a cocoon around the structure. Concentrating intensely, the temperature of the ice continually drops lower and lower until finally, stresses shatter the whole thing.

I stare up, mind blown at the castle of glass. Druids begin passing out one by one.

"This is to the Gamemaster! Take this you bastard! We're gonna keep fighting until the war is won! If you ever lose hope, just remember what this is and what it stands for!" Mack bellows. Everyone goes crazy cheering. Mack falls to the ground with a proud grin on his face.