The Eden Crisis
Chapter 12: Emerald Marshes

Time flies in Eden. Just six months ago Raziel and I were getting a powerful four-star summon, or Entitas, as it is known. A lot has happened since then. We are on Continent Eighty Nine now. But that isn’t the half of it. People are so acclimated to life in this game that they’re living in the kingdoms and even have rulers. For example, the continents belonging to Silva Regnum are run by Claire and our guild.

The continents of Hullez are run by Raziel, now known as the Hierarch. Lucien and SOLDIER hold dominion over the Quaesitor, which is the kingdom of the first eight continents. The nation of Ruina is barren. There are no habitable towns or cities there. It is a place for high-level quests.

The last kingdom is Atlantis. Many of the continents that belong to it are near an ocean. The continents are beautiful. You can see their waterfalls from other continents. I love to see them. I am in Silva Regnum, in the capital city of Bolero. It is a wonderful city and is located in a forest.

While some things have been good, others have been bad. Shadow XIII has stopped helping everyone beat the game. They instead preach that we need to remain in the game. They believe Eden to be a paradise. Also, there have been renowned players who have disappeared, and it is the assumption of Claire and me that Shadow XIII is behind it.

We plead for Lucien to do something, but he says he needs proof. Raziel won’t help, either. He refuses to do anything to endanger his people. I’ve tried talking to Vergil, but he no longer answers his messages in the game. He won’t meet me anymore. I don’t know what that guild has done to him.

I’m on the balcony of my room looking at the forest. I love the view; I just wish I had a view like this at home in the real world. I enjoy the view until darkness suddenly covers my eyes. Someone has his hands on my face!

“Guess who?” a female voice says. God, I hate this game. “Claire?” The gatecrasher removes her hands and pokes her head around to look at me. It’s Claire. “Come on, Dante. Let’s go for a walk in the forest.” I stand up and she moves out of the way. I stretch and yawn. “Sure, let’s go. I’m bored, anyway.”

We walk out of the grand forest palace and go into the city. People wave at us as we walk through the streets. I buy a few potions before we leave the safety of the capitol and go into the forest.

Claire and I talk about random things as we enjoy all the forest has to offer. “Don’t you love it, Dante? This forest, it’s so real. It’s so much like home.” She is right about this place. It looks like a forest should. It smells like a forest should. It even sounds like a forest should. I love it so much. Sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ FɪndNøvel.ɴᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

“Raziel tells me that this place’s supposed to hide an ancient sanctuary,” I say. “Maybe we can find it.” Claire smiles. “Did Raziel tell you where in the forest it might be?” I shake my head no.

“Well, perhaps I know,” Claire says. “I do read now and then, plus Apollo likes to tell me secrets of the game from time to time.” Claire points into the distance. “If what I’ve read is correct then the sanctuary should be in that general area.”

She grabs my wrist and pulls me in the direction of the possible site of the sanctuary. As we run, not by my choice, I get the feeling something isn’t right. I’m trying to think of what else Raziel told me about the sanctuary.

What is that smell? It’s the smell of the forest but different. It has an ancient kind of smell. “Dante, there it is! Come on!” Claire pulls me into the sanctuary. These are definitely ancient ruins. There are stone shapes in the ground. They are covered with Eden script. What does it say?

Claire can hardly contain herself. “Look how beautiful it is, Dante!” especially with the sun shining through the trees and reflecting off the temple.” I trace my fingers on the stone etchings. This is remarkable. The detail and attention to the game shows a feeling of love. “Someone is truly devoted to this game,” I say to myself. Could the creator of the game be behind this? No, I say; why would he do that?

Claire interrupts my thoughts. I look to what she is pointing to. It is a statue of the god Veren. Though his face is covered by a mask, his hair style gives him away. There’s a tablet on the altar in front of Veren. I look at it and see that the writing is the language of Eden. I know Apollo can read this and maybe Raziel, too. Fortunately, I can copy it. Pulling out a roll of paper and a piece of charcoal, I put the paper on the tablet and rub the charcoal over it, tracing the writing onto the paper.

“I’ll get Apollo or Raziel to translate it later,” I say to Claire, who smiles and takes a seat on a broken wall of the ruins. “Dante, sit with me. There’s something I’ve been wanting to tell you for a while now.” I sit next to her. God, is she going to say what I think she’s going to say?

“We’ve known each other for a year, and we’ve been through a lot. You’re such a good friend, but I can’t help but feel that—″ “I’d hoped I’d see you sooner or later in a quiet, secluded place,” someone says. We both turn to see who’s speaking as Claire lets out a sound of disgust. “Leon! What are you doing here? I hope this isn’t some kind of vendetta because you will lose.” Leon jumps down from the temple ruins.

“Normally, I would agree, but fortunately for me I have this special paralysis potion.” Leon drops a small bottle at our feet. As it breaks and releases the potion, I try to move to do a spell to counteract the concoction but the black magic goes into effect almost immediately.

Leon pulls out his sword. He smiles the smile of a lunatic. He slowly walks over to us and thrusts his blade against Claire’s throat, letting out a sigh of sick pleasure. “Oh, how I am going to enjoy this,” he says. He steps back and points the sword at Claire’s chest.

I can’t move. Claire! Leon smiles and is about to strike when the next thing I know a claw comes down and smashes him to the ground. It’s a dragon! Leon attempts to get up, but the dragon grabs him with his mouth and throws him across the sanctuary.

I am able to move my hand a little. I charge a spell. “Release!” The spell takes away the paralysis, and I am free to move again. I look over at Leon, and he is crawling to get away from the dragon, but it’s too late. The dragon rips him apart and his body shatters into pieces. Rest in peace, Leon.

I quickly use my magic and cure Claire of her paralysis. I motion for her to run, but the dragon blocks us from leaving. It whips me with its tail and knocks me away. Claire pulls out her sword and does a quick technique. The dragon roars and slaps her with its claw.

Claire falls and the dragon bites her. She lets out a scream and writhes in pain. I hold up my hand and charge a spell. “Holy Flare!” A ball of white energy hits the dragon and it obliterates.

I run to Claire and pull her close. “Claire! Hang on! I’ll heal you!” I charge my magic. “Restore!” The magic heals her, but she is still in pain and her HP is dropping a point a second. What the hey? I use my examination magic. She is poisoned! My god!

“Release!” The magic fails! No! I can’t . . . I can’t lose her! “Claire! No, this can’t be happening!” I charge another spell. “Regeneration!” I use a magic to keep her HP restoring constantly, but it is only temporary. It won’t last forever. I use a portal crystal and go to where Apollo is.

Apollo is taken by surprise as we come in. Nero is ready to attack until he sees me. I carry Claire in and place her on a table. Apollo comes over to us and looks at her.

“What happened?” I have to fight to hold back the tears. I let out a sigh of distress. “We were in the forest sanctuary on Continent Thirty Nine. We got attacked by Leon and then an emerald dragon killed him. It bit Claire and infected her with some kind of poison. I tried to heal her with my magic but it didn’t work.” Apollo’s eyes seem to bulge as if in fear.

He shakes his head. “This is bad. I can’t heal her. You need a potion to cure this poison. I don’t have the skill to do it. You have to have sorcery, alchemy, logic and the right materials. Let me contact Raziel to see if he has the ability.”

Apollo pulls out a mirror. It is an artifact of the Sister of Fate. I think Apollo found it in Atlantis. It can contact anyone as long as a mirror is nearby. I see Raziel in the mirror. “How’s it going, old man?” he says to Apollo. “Time for one of our talks?” Always joking, I think.

“I’m sorry,” Apollo says. “This isn’t the time for casual talking. Claire’s in danger of dying. She’s infected with emerald poison. Do you have the ability to heal her?” Raziel seems to pale at the words. His smile and joking attitude drop completely. “I’m sorry, Apollo, but I don’t have the skills for that yet. However, Cain does. He has an apothecary shop here in Sanctum. His shop has a statue of Veren outside it.”

I temporarily restore Claire’s health and recast Regeneration. I use another portal crystal and take her to Sanctum on Continent Eighty Five. Employing my inventory map, I run down the streets with Claire till I find Cain’s shop.

I burst through the door, which surprisingly doesn’t faze Cain in the least. I put Claire down on the counter of the shop. “May I help you, hero?” I don’t have time to deal with the mocking. “I hear you can cure emerald poisoning. Can you?”

Cain nods. “I can. However, if you don’t have the ingredients, I can’t help you.” I shake my head. “I don’t have time for this! You must have the ingredients! Help her!” A look of determination shoots across Cain’s face.

“I do have the ingredients, but they’re ridiculously expensive. You can buy them for five million gold. This stuff is beyond rare and almost impossible to get. I can tell you where the items are if you want to get them yourself. I will even keep Claire alive till you get back.”

I swallow nothing as I try to process what is happening. “I have no choice. I have to save her.” Cain smiles at the words. “Then you need to get me the blood of the original emerald dragon, venom from any emerald dragon and the fruit of creation. You can find the original emerald dragon in the Emerald Marshes. I think you know where you can find the venom, which leaves the fruit of creation. That can only be found in Hullez. If I remember game lore correctly, the tree in the courtyard of the palace in Sanctum should have the fruit. Bring me these items, and I can remove the poison from her.” I nod and take Claire’s hand and kiss it. “I swear, Claire, if you can hear me, I am going to save you.” She is silent. The poison seems to have knocked her out. Cain comes over to us and places a hand over her. “Time Stop.” Her HP stops rising. “This will suffice for now. Hurry, Dante.” I run out of the shop and make my way to the Teleportation Sphere. I choose Continent Thirty Seven where the Emerald Marshes are.

I run to the marshes. Where could the dragon be? The marshes smell of death. I begin my trek to find the original dragon. That is, until I am stopped by a familiar voice. “Do you think you can beat the original emerald dragon? He is beyond your strength.” I turn around and there is my brother. He still wears the cloak of Shadow XIII. He walks up to me.

“What do you want, Vergil? You’ve been ignoring me for months.” Vergil closes his eyes. He is thinking. He lets out a sigh. “I know, but that’s because of everything that’s been going on. I’ll explain more to you, but for now let me help you save Claire.” How did he find out about her being harmed? It’s only been minutes, yet he shows up asking if I think I can help beat the dragon. Now he wants to help me.

“What’s the game you’re playing, Vergil? Why are you offering to help me? Who even told you about Claire?” “There isn’t the time,” he says. “Cain sent me. He told me that you’d likely be going alone against the dragon and that you would die if that happens. I love you, Dante, and can’t let you die.” He is right about there being no time.

I need to trust my twin. “Let’s go, then, you and I Do you know where the dragon is?” Vergil nods and leads me into the marshes. This area is an optional area on the continent. The boss area was in a different part of the continent. Because this is an optional area, the monsters here are stronger than those elsewhere on the continent.

There is fighting on our way through the marshes, and it is difficult, but I will endure to save Claire. My fear is that Raziel is going to say I told you so and my brothers, too. It feels as though Vergil and I have been looking in the marshes for hours.

I stop walking and look around. We’re in the middle of the marshes and still no dragon. “Vergil! Are you trying kill her? There is no damn dragon!” Vergil’s face shows anger. “How dare you? I’m here for you! I want to help you!” I shove Vergil. “How would I know since you’re nothing more than Cain’s lapdog!”

Vergil practically growls and swings his fist at me. “I’m no one’s lapdog. Everything I do is for you and Cloud!” I look down. I start to apologize but a loud roar stops me.

A monstrous emerald dragon thunders over to us. Each step shakes the ground. “I smell the abominations that infest my precious earth,” it bellows. “I will devour you, and your suffering will never end in my ancient belly.” It talks! This thing talks! Is this the original emerald dragon?

Vergil pulls out a scroll, unravels it with both hands and holds the ancient writings in front of him. “I seek the fire that consumes the earth!” he yells. A ball of fire shoots from the scroll and hits the dragon, engulfing it in flames, but it continues to come at us.

The dragon breathes green fire at us. Vergil and I jump out of the way. The fire on the dragon dies out. I withdraw my sword. “Dark Wave!” I charge and swing the sword as a black wave of energy slices from it and hits the dragon. It roars and slashes its tail in retaliation. The blow from the tail knocks me away and into the watery marsh.

Vergil pulls out another scroll. He unravels it and twirls it around himself. “I offer up this seal to unleash the power of the dragon that burns beneath the earth!” Vergil gains the power over fire for the remainder of the battle or until he uses a different scroll.

My twin holds a hand up. “Ruby Flare!” A ruby-red ball of fire forms in his hand. He launches the attack on the dragon. The attack seems to take it by surprise. The HP bar drops a decent amount, but I can see there are still at least three bars, plus what is left.

I need to get in there and help my brother. I do have that fire-elemental Entitas. I get ready to use the summoning. The dragon is roaring as the fire dies out on him. “Damn human!” it howls. “You would use a perversion of my sister’s power!” Sister? The dragon has a sister?

“The original ruby dragon went down pretty easily,” Vergil says. “And your sister is weak. Soon you are going to join her.” Is he really talking back to the dragon? That is my brother for you, always the mouthy one.

“Die, human!” the dragon booms out. As it sucks in, I wonder if it’s about to use emerald flame again. No, this is different. I put my hands on the ground. “Kresnik! Cosmic fire!”

Flames rain down from the sky around the marsh. The dragon gets hit by some of the firestorm. A large ball of fire falls from the sky and crashes into the ground before us. Flames shoot from the ball and form into a large being, a cross between a man and a bull.

Kresnik gathers golden fire into his hands and releases the energy in a powerful stream that scalds the dragon. It roars in pain as Kresnik leaves the marsh. The attack drops the dragon’s health even lower. It is down to two bars.

My twin yells out how awesome my attack was. I can’t suppress a smile. Vergil uses more of his fire skills from the scroll. The dragon continues to lose HP. I run at the dragon and swing my sword. “Sanctimonious Strike!” I cut through the dragon, but it takes damage as if it were hit several times.

“Enough!” it roars. It gets up on its hind legs and slams its front feet on the ground. “Ground Breaker!” The ground shudders and ruptures. A tidal wave from the marsh and chunks of earth hit us.

The water and dust clear. Vergil is on one knee. The dragon is in the red; it’s almost dead! Vergil looks at me and I nod. We stand next to one another and put our hands almost together. “Twin Calamity!” The dark elements of my sword, and the fire magic Vergil possesses for the time being combine to form a powerful blood-red beam.

The energy from the beam shoots into the dragon and its HP drops to zero. Green light shoots out of the dragon, and with one final roar it blows up in an explosion of green energy. I look and there are some of the items I want. I fill several vials of the blood and venom of the dragon; all I need now is the fruit.

There is another item. It is an emerald sphere. It looks almost like an eye. Vergil picks it up and puts it into his inventory. “This is the emerald dragon artifact,” he says. “It is necessary to obtain the ultimate Entitas.” I’ve read about those items. The champions of Creation are the most powerful Entitas. They failed to protect all of Eden and swore they would not rest until Eden was restored. To obtain them you must prove you are strong enough to overcome the guardians of Eden. Gather the seven artifacts of the Original Dragons and only then will you obtain true power.

I narrow my eyes at my brother. “Is this why you came? You wanted that artifact?” Vergil shakes his head. “No. Shadow XIII does want them, but I have no intention of getting them anymore of the artifacts.”

Surprise shows on my face. “Any more of them? How many does Shadow XIII have?” Vergil hesitates. “They have four. This one would make five. There are only two dragons left. The next dragon that has to be beaten is the Original Sapphire dragon. Then the final Original, the Divine Dragon.”

“So why aren’t you going to give them the artifact?” Vergil looks at me. “We don’t have time for this, Dante. Claire is in need of help. Let’s go to Hullez where the fruit of Creation is.” He’s right. I nod in agreement, and Vergil uses a portal crystal to get us directly to the palace in Sanctum, the capital of Hullez.

The great city is as peaceful as always. Vergil and I go to the palace and meet with Raziel. We walk into the conference room. Raziel looks up and greets us. “Is Claire OK now?” he says. “Is she why you’re here?” I nod. “Yes,” I say. “And I need a fruit of Creation. Cain says that there is a tree in your courtyard that has it. May I have one?”

Raziel tosses me a fruit. I catch it. “I figured you were coming. This fruit was just picked, so it is still good for the antidote. Save her.” I thank Raziel, and Vergil and I race to Cain’s shop.

I run in through the door. Cain is lounging in a chair, reading a book. I look around but I don’t see Claire. She was on the counter. “Cain, where is Claire?” I’m screaming. Cain lowers his book. “You mistake me for a GPS.” He lifts his book back up and continues to read.

In anger I grab the book and slam it to the ground. “Where is she?” I yell. “I have what you need! For God’s sake, save her!” Cain takes the ingredients and makes an antidote that he puts into a small vial.

“Thank you, Dante. The fruit doesn’t keep, so the antidote has to be made quickly.” He casually puts the vial behind his counter. “What are you doing? I say. “What about Claire?”

Cain starts to walk off, but I stop him and pull him around roughly. “Where is she, you son of a bitch?” Vergil puts his hands on me. “Let him go, man. Claire is fine.” I look at him. “What are you talking about? She hasn’t received the antidote yet.”

Cain grabs my wrists and forces me to let him go. “I took the liberty of curing her shortly after you left. I couldn’t rely on your getting the ingredients I needed.” I say I don’t understand. “How? You said you needed the blood of the original emerald dragon.”

“I lied. I only needed generic emerald dragon blood but the blood of the original is far more valuable.” Cain points to the other room. “Lady Claire is in there. She’s resting. The antidote takes time to do its work. Her HP is restoring slowly, and when it is full she will wake up. I give it an hour.” I walk into the room and see Claire lying on a bed. Her health is close to full. I take a seat and rest my head on her chest.

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