The Eden Crisis
Chapter 14: Calm before the Storm

It’s been a week since Claire and I were married. Our little honeymoon ends tomorrow. Today, Claire is hanging out with some girls from the guild. I’m going to Vetus Silenda to see Apollo and Nero. I make my way to the teleportation sphere and teleport to Vetus Silenda. Despite the time spent in this game, very few players have settled on this continent. Sᴇaʀch Thᴇ Find_Nøvel.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

I can’t say I blame them. This is a wasteland of nothing but desert. I open up a way to Apollo with a portal crystal. I appear in the library Apollo resides in. He is sitting down and reading a book. “Hey, Apollo,” I say, to get his attention. Apollo puts his book down and greets me.

“So how is it going, Dante? I hope you’re having a nice honeymoon.” I let out a slight laugh. “It’s great. I’m loving every minute of it. What have you been up to?” Apollo motions to his books. “I’ve been reading. I’m trying to get as much information on the final boss as possible.”

“Isn’t the final boss going to be the hacker?” I ask. Apollo nods. “Yes, but even the hacker has to obey the rules of Eden. As brilliant as this hacker may be, he can’t rewrite the data of the final boss.” Makes sense. There is still more to ask, though. “So who is the final boss, then?”

“The final boss is Veren himself.” Apollo’s words stun me. The god of the game? “Really?” I say. Apollo nods his head. “Based on what I have read, yes. In one of the books it states that when a hero has proven himself, a final test must be done and Veren the God of Order and Creation resides over the test.”

That reminds me of that tablet I found. I pull it out. “Can you translate this?” I ask. Apollo takes the tablet and looks it over. He reads it for a full minute. “When six meet, a seventh shall rise. When both six and seven kneel to one, the seal will break. Creation will rumble and thou will know . . . Veren’s champions have come,” Apollo says as he reads. That is what the sapphire dragon said.

“What does it mean, Apollo?” Apollo places the tablet on his table. “As far as I can tell it has to do with the ultimate Entitas. The ‘when six meet’ part refers to the six original dragons. The ‘seventh that rises’ is the original divine dragon. He is the strongest of the original dragons. If all seven dragons are beaten and their artifacts claimed by one person, then that player will receive the ultimate Entitas, Knights of Creation.” I’ve never heard of the Knights of Creation. Even the book I read on Entitas didn’t mention them.

“That summon isn’t in any book I’ve read,” I say. “No, it wouldn’t be. The Entitas can only be found out about by putting together obscure bits of information. There is, for example, an art depiction on a wall in Hullez.”

We continue to talk until Nero comes in from outside. “Dante! What’s up, man? What brings you here?” Nero and I shake hands. “Not much, Nero. Claire’s having fun with some of the girls in the guild, so I guess I’m here just to pass a little time.” Nero walks past me and sits down. “Nothing here, really, just us and some musty old books,” he says, placing his feet on the table.

“Well, then, let’s explore and fight some monsters,” I say. “Nothing too big or serious, just a little fun. We can go near the temple in the oasis.” Nero shows interest and Apollo nods in agreement.

We gather what we need and go out toward the oasis, fighting monsters along the way. Having never searched the oasis before, I have no idea what to expect. As we look around, we come across more monsters. They accommodate to our level as the hacker intended, but their skills have a finite level.

We fight and eliminate all monsters that come our way. We continue to go deep into the forest until at last we enter an opening. There is someone standing in the middle of the open area. He is wearing a dark-blue cloak. He has his hood up. Is this a Shadow XIII member?

I stop and motion for Nero and Apollo to stop as well. “Who are you?” I ask the man in the cloak. “You have become a liability to Shadow XIII,” he says. “We have been generous in allowing you on this foolish crusade to free everyone from the game, but no longer. As of now, no one may leave Eden.” The man speaks with an inflated sense of self.

Nero and I pull our swords out. Apollo already has his staff in hand. The cloaked man laughs dryly. “Oh, so you want to fight, eh? Then let’s fight!” I gather magic and use a magic-defense spell. I don’t know which member this is, but I feel he will use magic, too. He has yet to draw a weapon.

Nero runs at the man and attacks him directly. The man uses a defensive spell and knocks Nero backward. A large fireball shoots past me from Apollo. It flies into the man and knocks him back.

His hood falls down. It’s Vayne! He laughs and places his hands on the ground. “Earth tsunami!” A wave of earth comes at us. I quickly use my sword skill sanctimonious slash. A wave of dark energy shoots toward the tsunami. The energy is deflected! Damnation! I place my hands on the ground. “Diamond wall!” Thank you, Raziel, for that accessory. A wall of pure diamond surrounds us. The earth tsunami hits the wall and shatters it. Fortunately, it is able to keep us from harm.

“Nero, attack him after I use a spell!” Apollo says with determination. “Shadow flare!” A black ball of fire shoots toward Vayne. As Apollo expected, Vayne uses a defensive spell to keep himself safe.

Nero surprises him and slashes him across the chest. Vayne groans in pain and backs away. “Damn, child!” he says and shoots a lighting spell at Nero, who falls to the ground from the attack, seemingly paralyzed.

I run at Vayne and attack him. He looks frightened. “Wind storm!” Vayne yells, and wind whirls around him. It knocks me away from him. His HP is low. He is pretty weak. That cloak doesn’t offer much defense. Why is he seen as valuable to Shadow XIII? I wonder.

“I didn’t expect I’d need to use this spell,” a visibly frustrated Vayne says. He holds his hand up high. “Mirror defense!” A mirror of ice forms in front of him. I can see myself and my friends in its reflection. The mirror shatters and three clones appear. One for me, one for Apollo and one for Nero.

Apollo uses a strong lightning spell to hit all three clones, but the Apollo clone uses the same magic. The two spells cancel each other out in a magnificent blast. Nero and I both attack our clones. They match us move for move.

What do I do? How do I beat this doppelganger? I flip backward and use one of my sword skills to unleash a wave of energy. Just as before, the clone copies my move. Apollo and Nero aren’t having any better luck.

I come in close on the clone for a direct attack. I slash at the clone, and it flips into the air and lands on my sword. In shock, I hesitate, and the clone thrusts his blade at me. I am able to move at the last minute and only my shoulder is grazed.

I roll on the ground and place a hand on the ground. “Sinking earth!” The clone is unable to copy the move and sinks into the earth. The spell won’t last long, though. I need to finish Vayne off to stop the spell completely.

I run toward Vayne. Rage fills me as I get closer and closer to him. I grip my sword tightly to attack. Vayne sees me and uses magic to counter me. “Granite dome!” he yells. A dome of strong rock surrounds him. My physical attacks can’t get through.

My clone gets free of my spell and comes to attack. I can only block attack after attack. I try to think of a spell I can use. I gather magic. “Earth breaker!” I pound my fist into the ground and the earth breaks apart. The clone is caught in the attack. The broken earth falls onto the clone, trapping him temporarily.

I go to help my friends. Apollo is holding his own against his clone. Nero doesn’t seem to be doing so well. The clone is beating him. I run to help him. Nero’s clone knocks Nero’s sword away. No! The clone lunges and his sword pierces my friend’s body.

Nero falls down to the ground. The clone of Nero disappears now that his task is done. I look toward Apollo, and it seems the clone is starting to get the better of him as well. I go to help him, but my clone breaks from the rubble and comes at me seeking revenge. These damnable things are determined to kill us!

I use my sword to counter the incoming attack. But the clone sloughs me off and attacks relentlessly. He knocks my sword from my hand soon enough. Is this the end? “I seek the light that cracks the sky!” A bright white stream of lightning shoots pass me and hits the clone.

It’s Vergil and Asher! Vergil runs past me with his twin swords and attacks the clone. The clone is unable to defend against his new opponent. It isn’t long before the clone is destroyed. I turn to look at Apollo. He is on the ground, and the clone is about to kill him. Wait! Nero! The brave warrior thrusts his sword through the Apollo clone, and it fades into nothing.

How is Nero alive? His clone disappeared because he died, but he is still alive. Now isn’t the time to think about it, I decide. I concentrate and place my hands on the ground. A large green circle of light surrounds me. More green light forms a pattern and completes the summoning glyph. “Fenrir!” A gigantic wolf appears before us. “Raging storm!” The wolf howls, and a whirlwind forms and hits the dome. The wind lifts the dome and breaks it into pieces.

Fenrir disappears and Vayne is left exposed. The Shadow XIII member is at full health. He has defensive spells active. He will be a little more challenging now. Vayne points at my brother. “You betrayed us! Then die!” Vayne uses a low-level magic and makes phantom swords appear in his hands.

He attacks Vergil and Asher. I let the two handle him for now. I run over to Apollo and heal him. Nero is back to full health, I’m glad to see. We watch as my brother engages Vayne. Vergil is dodging his attacks flawlessly.

Vayne uses powerful magic while attacking Vergil and Asher. They’re able to sidestep the physical attacks but not the magic. “Shadow lightning!” Vayne yells as a stream of black lightning shoots into my brother.

Asher pulls out one of his scrolls. He unravels the ancient paper and twirls the long scroll around himself. “I offer up this seal to unleash the power of the dragon that burns beneath the earth!” he says and shoots several fire flares at Vayne. The fireballs hit Vayne. But his magical defense holds up so his HP doesn’t drop much.

I run toward them all and concentrate on a spell. I hold out my hand. “Absolute zero!” A wave of cold energy shoots at Vayne. Asher and Vergil aren’t in my party, so they can be affected by the spell. The two notice this and jump out of the way. But Vayne is unable to avoid the magic. The cold air freezes him. His magic and physical defense are rendered useless.

Vergil deploys one of his sword skills and attacks Vayne. The ice shatters and Vayne falls to the ground. He is finished. His health is too low. The Shadow XIII member then stands up, weakly. He is holding his side. “Vergil, Asher . . . why?” Vergil puts his swords away. “We are supposed to help people escape the game.” my twin says. Vayne musters a weak laugh. “Fools! Do you know what will happen if you challenge the final boss? You will lose! He can’t be beaten!”

Asher shakes his head. “Don’t be so naïve, Vayne. The director is a liar. However, if you want to be a part of the game forever then I will grant your wish. Consider it done.” Vayne looks at Asher with fear. “No! You can’t! I don’t want—″Asher uses one of his scrolls and shoots a ball of fire at Vayne.

The Shadow XIII member screams as the fire burns his body. He holds a hand up, and through the flames I can see a sick, demented smile. An energy flare shoots high into the sky.

It isn’t long before Vayne’s body shatters. The fire shatters with him, making a spectacular-looking death. However, a new problem has been born. Vayne had performed a summoning. Given that it was at the end of his life, I can only assume it was a four-star Entitas. A loud boom of thunder roars and lightning strikes the ground.

The Entitas is one I have obtained but have never used. It is known as Lilith. She is a powerful, elemental Entitas. She appears as a winged knight. Lilith has long blue hair and amethyst-colored armor. She is larger than we are but smaller than a normal Entitas. I’ve read about her strength. She is the weakest of the four-star Entitas.

She is gathering energy for her attack on us. I don’t have time for a summoning. Nero runs past us toward Lilith. She unleashes her attack. It misses Nero and heads straight for us. “Apollo, use a defensive spell with me!” Nero says. Apollo nods. We both cast a defensive magic.

Lilith’s attack, celestial stream, collides with our magic shield. The defense doesn’t hold up for long, as the attack breaks through and hits us all. The damage is severe. I cast a restoration spell to keep us alive.

Four-star summons are different from other summonings: they stay on the field until they die or are dismissed. Nero attacks her directly and cries out, “Banish!” He cuts through her. She falls and disappears in a brilliant shower of light.

We gather after the summon disappears and thank Nero for his help. I thank Vergil for coming to save us. He puts a hand on my shoulder. “You’re my brother,” he says. “I will do whatever it takes to keep you safe. Now is not the time for thank-you’s, though. You have to go to Sanctum. Shadow XIII has made their move. They are attacking Sanctum. They want to kill Raziel so they can claim the city as their own. SOLDIER is already there trying to repel the forces, but it is difficult. There is an army of sirens commanding monsters and other warriors. Cloud and Zack are evacuating players through the teleportation sphere. They need help. Claire is already there as well, giving her brother backup with many of the Knights of the Lunar Order guild. Asher and I are going to go for the director in Castle Infinity.”

This is a lot to take in right now. Raziel, Claire and my brother are all in danger. That is all I know and care about. Vergil tosses down a portal crystal. “Go now!” he commands. I give him a hug, and then I run into the portal, with Apollo and Nero following me.

When we get through, we’re stunned at what we see. Sanctum is burning, monsters are everywhere and screams are filling the streets. May God help us.

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