Cyber Mortality

Chapter 41:

After a day of rest, our party grabbed everything we needed before heading to the round three announcement in Coronia.

"Come on!" DeNyle exclaims as we round the final corner. "We don't want to miss King Cyberius!"

A large crowd stands before the castle and a dais probably fifteen feet high stands on the steps of the palace. Guards decked in gold armor stand at attention waiting for the king to enter.

"I think there's ten times as many people here to watch the final round than last year!" DeNyle glances around to take in the thousands of people crowded onto the one hundred foot wide street.

The crowd roars as the king steps onto the dais wearing golden armor and a navy blue tunic.

"Thank you all for coming to this years Tournament of Champions!" Cyberius bellows with his voice amplified through a large screen for those farther in the back of the crowd. "I know for many of you the thrill of fighting against the best of the best is what drew you here, but for others it was the money." A grin spreads across his face as he says 'money'. "But to spice things up a bit I have decided to also put my crown in the pot. Whichever team wins will be able to crown one of their team members the new Cyber Mortality King or Queen."

Gasps erupt through the crowd followed by a loud cheer.

"You have all been waiting to hear what round three is and I am delighted to tell you it will be glorious. You have already heard the prizes, but not how to win them. For round three, everyone logged on right now is able to compete, but only a member of one of the final one hundred teams is allowed to win the crown."

"Wait, so everyone can compete for the money?" I hiss toward my team.

"I guess so," Rocky shrugs.

"For this final round, eight relics must be found. In each realm there is a dungeon and after fighting the final boss you will receive a relic. I must warn you, the dungeons will not be easy nor will the bosses. Enter at your own peril. The relics must be found in a specific order. The relic of Cliffton then Hallwyn, Gazyl, Esunder, Arenia, Avina and finally Coronia." Cyberius pauses to take a breath before continuing on. "Once the relic from Cliffton is found, the dungeon on Hallwyn will appear. Once you have gathered all of these relics, you will proceed through a new portal to fight the final boss. Whoever can defeat it will win the game."

"That doesn't sound too bad," a man with an eye-patch mutters beside us. "We've fought some bosses in dungeons before."

"Some of you might be thinking that this sounds easy, but there is one more rule. If you die in the game, you will die in the real world." Cyberius' words echo across the plaza as eyes widen and jaws drop.

"You're lying!" a voice shouts. "It's not possible to kill us IRL."

Cyberius smirks at the man's words. "Even as we speak, wires are snaking along your spinal cords and into your brains. If someone tries to pull you out of the system they will find they've also severed your spinal cord and damaged your brain beyond repair. Welcome to Cyber Mortality." He chuckles before disappearing into a ball of light.

A heavy feeling sinks into the pit of my stomach.

"He's not serious, right?" my jaw trembles and fear grasps my throat.

"I can't log out!" a voice cries out from somewhere in the crowd. "The option is gone from the menu!"

I pull up my menu to find that the log out button is indeed gone.

"How can we leave now? I didn't sign up for this!" Another voice screams and people break into hysterics. "I just came here to watch the tournament. Not to be in it!"

"So we win or we die?" Jez mutters with a flash in her green eyes. "What kind of sick bastard does that? And why now? Why not at last years games?"

"Look how many more people showed up for this years tournament than last year. He used last years tournament to lure a vast amount of people here for this years so he could trap them," Rocky clenches his jaw.

"I'm not a fighter," a woman grasps my arm, digging her nails in. Fear fills her blue eyes. "I just own a tavern. I've never played this game to fight!"

"I'm sure there are many others who feel the same," Rocky grumbles and turns on his heels to start walking down the street.

"Where are you going?" I question, shaking off the woman, to follow him.

"To Cliffton," he growls and holds out his fist. "To find the dungeon. You can come with me, or you can stay safe here."

"We're coming with you," Jez slaps her fist down on his and turns to look at DeNyle and I. "Right?"

We follow suit and fall into darkness.