Chapter 2

The night was long and filled with minor chit chat, it was rather uneventful to say the least, the only surprise was a few more players coming back to join the group. By the time morning rolled around their numbers had grown to 40 or so, it seemed people were learning the dangers of the world. More might be found on their marches, expeditions to help establish safe routes through the map.

Most of the starting area had been farmed dry overnight, items, enemies, crafting supplies, all gone. "There must be some players still out in the field, the supplies should've respawned by now." Aranea spoke as she overlooked a rough sketched map. "If we want experience we'll have to wait longer, otherwise we'll be underpowered."

"How underpowered? What exactly would we need?" Ryder asks as he looks down at the map, surprised at just how bad it looks. It had a basic outline but aside from that, it was near impossible to tell what anything was, looking like random smudges and symbols on the parchment.

"Well if we want to survive the final encounter on this island? Probably… level 20 to 30, and our equipment should be at least twice or thrice upgraded." She produces a piece of charcoal and puts it on what looks like a circle. "We're here, the main path is this way to the west. It leads to the port town of Thelmur."

"Alright, what about the other path then? As I imagine we're clearly underleveled for the main path." Ryder asks, his mind slowly figuring out what each symbol on the map means.

Aranea nods before moving the charcoal to a different section. "We'll move around the mountains the other way, clearing dungeons and securing the villages along the way." She traces a trail to the north, looping around the hastily scribbled mountains. "This way will prevent us from rushing headfirst into death, it also gives some nice opportunities for extra experience."

"How so? Know some secret spots?" he asks, while still trying to figure out where such things on the map would be.

"Yeah, from my time in the beta there was a dungeon to the northeast." She makes another mark on the map. "It was hidden by some shrubbery near a tree, so chances are most players missed it." she closes her eyes and seems to think for a moment before continuing. "I don't remember it being particularly difficult, though things often change between beta and final release."

A dungeon could be rather valuable… though if they could avoid anything risky he'd rather have them take the safer option. "Is there anything valuable in there? Worth the risk I mean." he asks, slightly hoping that they could just ignore it for now.

"In the beta it was mainly just exp items, now though? Who knows… it could still be just that or there could be some early armor and weapons. Might even have an NPC waiting down there." Aranea says nonchalantly while slowly reworking the map, her mind drifting ever so slightly.

"Npcs can be in dungeons?" Ryder looked at her genuinely perplexed, sure it didn't sound outlandish but it's not something he would've thought of.

She looks over to Ryder now, a bit surprised by the question. "Yeah, it's not unheard of for some NPCs to be found in dungeons. Sometimes they're just prisoners or lost explorers, other times they're more important and help with the story."

Suddenly all sense of worry left his mind, if there was an NPC there it would likely have important information, if not ensure the dungeon wasn't too dangerous. "I see, would you mind if I check it out then? It looks fairly close and there's minimal enemies out in the plains right now, right?"

"Huh? You want to go check it out? Like right now?! Are you crazy?! We barely know what's in there! It could be some insanely tough enemy!" Aranea's usual calm demeanor suddenly jumped into a panic, her voice getting noticeably louder and slightly higher.

Ryder stands there stunned for a moment before responding, unsure of what to make of her panic. "Well we won't get anywhere just sitting around, plus it'd let us know exactly what's in there. If it's safe then it'd be a good optional farm, if not then we avoid it for now."

A rather audible sigh escapes from Aranea as she mulls over the situation. "That's true, I guess if you really want to explore it you have to take at least two others with you, can't have you risking it on your own."

"Fair enough, I'll grab two people and head off then." a small smile shows up on his face as he turns and starts walking off now. Those adventuring partners weren't going to find themselves after all.

"At least let me know when you take off!" She calls after him, worry still lingering in her voice before sighing and getting back to the map.

Once away Ryder began looking over the crowd to see about inviting to the dungeon, there were a surprising amount of options to choose from, though many already seemed to be talking amongst one another and making their own plans. Others were teaching some of the beginners the ropes.

"I didn't think everyone would be this lively already…" Ryder thought to himself while looking over the crowd. It certainly wasn't much but it definitely had some semblance of hope to it. Hope? No, what was there to really be hopeful about? They'd already been stuck in the game for over 12 hours at this point, there was no reason to be hopeful, yet this place made him feel the opposite. Why was that? What was it about this that made him feel different?

"Ryder!" Lily called out, she was waving at him from a distance. She'd been seated on the ground, back to a crumbling building, next to her was the green eyed assassin.

Lily's face didn't have a drop of despair or fear on it now, how she had managed it was lost on Ryder.

With a kind wave he greeted the two before walking over. "Hey, need something?"

"Nope, but you seemed like you were looking for something." She hums a bit while leaning forward. "Was I right? You were just kind of scanning the crowd after all."

"Well I mean you're not wrong. I was actually in the process of looking for some friendly faces to help me with a little expedition of sorts." he calmly explains, looking back over the crowd for a moment.

Lily's eyes instantly lit up with curiosity as she leaned forward a bit. "Oh! What is it? Can I join you?! And can we bring my friend along, if he wants to?"

"Woah easy there, it's nothing major, I was just going to check out a dungeon to the northeast. Aranea pointed it out and with the plains being clear I figured it might be a good time to check it out." He pauses and looks at the green eyed assassin. "and you're more than welcome to tag along if you want. Aranea said I should at least have two people tag along anyway."

"You must be really brave or really stupid to try and tackle a dungeon already. But I guess with the three of us it shouldn't be too difficult." a sly smile forms on the assassin's face as he looks up at Ryder. His voice was soft and low, from the sound of it he doesn't talk often. His words a clear playful jab as he stands up and reaches his hand out. "Name's Oto, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise, I'm Ryder. I hope we work well together Oto." The two shake hands, a party being formed as a familiar chime is heard and they see each other with a blue outline now.

"Hey don't leave me out! I'm tagging along too, you never know what you'll find in the dungeons around here." Lily proclaims before quickly hopping up to her feet with ease.

"Didn't plan on leaving you behind, especially not after how excited you got." Ryder responds before adding her back into the party. A new notification popping up showing 3/7. "Three out of seven?" he questions aloud to himself.

"Party limit if I had to guess. Odd choice for a max of seven but they probably have their reasoning for it." Oto shrugs before looking around. "So when are we heading out?"

"Well we could leave now" Ryder loosely begins. "Aranea did want to know when we were leaving but…" The group turns and looks in her direction to see her being swarmed by a group of players, all bombarding her with questions. "I think she's busy enough as is."

"Yeah you're probably right, well the sooner we leave the better then." Lily stretches a bit but pauses when a new voice interjects.

"Pardon me, you three are leaving town correct? May I accompany you… just to ensure your safety?" it was Eleanor, a surprising sight to see for sure. "After what the great lord did to you all last night, I wish to try and help! I do not want to just stand around."

An NPC requesting to join them out of the blue. What was this? This definitely wasn't standard AI behavior, especially considering it was able to react to last night's events. Maybe it was just really good programming? It had to be, last night wasn't just a scripted event…was it? Was this all really just some special event?

"I don't mind if you join us, but can you even fight? Or protect yourself for that matter." Ryder crosses his arms as he looks at her, trying to size up what's happening here.

"I may not be proficient with the physical side of things but I am well versed in miracles. I can heal your wounds and ailments with ease, and if need be I can force enemies away." Eleanor holds out what looks like a worn and aged talisman. It's clearly seen continuous use, it's frayed and barely holding together.

The trio look between themselves for a moment before ultimately nodding in agreement.

There was no way they could refuse a healer in these circumstances.

"Alright, you can join. Just stay towards the back of us to stay safe. You're not well armored like the rest of us after all." Ryder's words seemed to overjoy Eleanor as her rather serious expression turned to one of joy.

Hurriedly she shook Ryder's hand, joining the party and offering a kind smile. "I promise you won't regret this! I'll help you get through it safely, no problem."

With the group formed and Aranea being too swamped to be informed they set off into the fields to find the dungeon. The quiet of the fields was vastly different from the day before, where as animals and even soldiers were trodding around, it's simply silent now. The only noise that can be heard is the wind blowing up against the trees and rustling the grass. Even their footfalls seem incredibly quiet and distant in this silence.

"Guess the fields really have been picked dry at the moment, I honestly didn't think I'd see this happen." Oto speaks aloud as he walks through the dirt path, the way he walks seeming rather cautious, minding every little pebble and root in his path. "Without all the enemies around it is rather relaxing here."

"Yes, it really is. It almost seems as peaceful as it did before the fall." Eleanor paces a little before stopping to stare at a rather large tree, a willow. "You're only seeing its fragmented beauty now sadly. Though I suppose if we were still in prosperous times you outlanders wouldn't be needed."

"What was the world like before? It seems really nice, like something out of a dream." Lily chimed in while walking up to Eleanor.

"I suppose you could say it was like something out of a dream. Our great lord was a kind man, you see he united our kingdoms through common ground and brought us prosperity." a bittersweet look finds its way onto Eleanor's face as the grip on her talisman tightens. "He even cared for us of the lowest ranks and brought us out of the darkness. Yet now, look where his judgment has led us… our world is slowly dying and our once great land is now overrun with madmen and beasts."

Tears brimmed in her eyes, her hands shaking in anger as the memories boiled up, how long had she been enduring this pain alone? Ryder places a hand on her shoulder, no words were spoken, just an understanding look exchanged between the two as their eyes met.

"I'm sorry, my emotions got the better of me. I am alright now." Eleanor moves back onto the path slowly, seemingly still shaken by the memories.

"Oh no worries, we all have those moments." Oto places his hands in his pockets as he looks around. Stopping momentarily to pull out what looks to be a spy glass. "So you said to the northeast, yeah? Where is it?" he casually tosses it around for a moment before catching and extending it.

"Hidden behind some shrubs apparently, or so Aranea said." Ryder responded while looking around. "Next to a tree as well."

"Oh? Are you speaking of the abandoned temple? It's from the forgotten days but still holds many secrets." Eleanor spoke up quietly while trying to match Ryder's gaze.

"Well only one way to find out. Think i spotted our entrance." Oto says while pointing out a tree in the distance.

It was just a tree with a few bushes, nothing that would really stand out to anyone. One might even just ignore it as it looks so natural in comparison to the willow from before.

"It does have all the markings of it, I'll go check it out real quick!" Lily chimed in before running over. She paused for a moment as she examined the bush, within a few seconds she was waving the group over to look at the entrance.

As expected there it was, hidden by the bushes and natural vegetation. A set of stairs that lead down into the earth, no clear sign of how deep they might go. If the term temple is anything to go off of it might be pretty deep.

Without hesitation Ryder took the lead, slowly and carefully walking down each step, being cautious to try and see any possible traps.

The stone was even worse than those in the town, covered in moss and crumbling apart, it was a miracle that it was even supporting their weight.

How long had this been left untouched? Eleanor knew about it so surely it has had some safety measures put into it. Though as they descended it began to grow darker and darker, earth surrounded them on all sides.

"Anyone have some kind of light? I can't really see what's ahead of me now." Ryder spoke up, hoping someone behind him would have something.

"Yeah, right here." Oto produced a lantern from the back of his belt. "One of the vendors in town sells them." He lights it up before handing it to Ryder.

The faint orangish yellow glow of the lantern illuminates the dark earthen path before them, spots for torches clearly marked on the wall as they pass by.

As they descend further and further the faint scent of old musty water hangs in the air, along with plenty of dust. Maybe this place really was abandoned, it seems no one has been down here in who knows how long.

Upon reaching the bottom they come to a flat landing that stretches forward about 6 feet, at the end is a metal door that looks like it hasn't been touched in years.

Dust and dirt coat it heavily and what appears to be old blood stains lie under that.

"This used to be a temple? It looks like some underground torture chamber…" Oto comments as he examines the blood stains closer.

"It was a temple in the forgotten days, they worshiped the gods beyond the veil, monsters and demons. They are why our world used to be nothing more than chaos incarnate." Eleanor walks up to the door and puts her free hand on it. "Care to help me open it?"

Cautiously Oto and Eleanor pushed the heavy door open, the door groaning and screeching as it scraped along the stone ground. A wave of darkness blows past them as the pungent scent of death hits them, as they step in they see a ruinous chasm that seems to stretch out for eternity.

[Forgotten Temple; Valstrox.]

An overwhelming sense of dread washed over the group as the darkness made it nearly impossible to see beyond their dome of light.

How were they supposed to tackle this? This wasn't some small dungeon, at least it didn't look like it.

Then there was also the possibility of unknown enemies lurking in the shadows, waiting for an opportune moment to strike.

All they could hear was just the occasional sound of water dripping down from the ceiling.

No groaning, no crackling fires, nothing.

Just the eerie silence with the ever so unnerving drip drop, drip drop.

"I don't like this, I doubt this is what Aranea saw last time she was here." Ryder held up the lantern to try and illuminate more of their surroundings, only to be met with more darkness. "If this is really what she expected then I don't want to know what waits further beyond this."

"We should stay close, who knows what'll be waiting for us." Oto readies a knife in his right hand and produces a small crossbow for his left. "Ryder, stay in the middle with Eleanor, you'll be providing our light. I'll take the front, Lily, you keep our backs covered." Oto's voice was calm but a hint of fear could be heard.

"Right, I'll be counting on you both." Ryder says before drawing his longsword and holding it in his left hand, being sure to keep the lantern raised in his right.

Once in formation the group slowly began to move forward, the deep dark of the forgotten temple never seeming to let up, only closing on in. Their footsteps echo loudly through the old cavernous temple, giving it a rather unsettling feeling. Even though it seemed like they were alone, this feeling of being watched just wouldn't let up. Yet no creatures could be spotted.

Upon making it down a flight of stairs to a new landing a stone wall to their left can be seen surprisingly intact unlike everything else. It appears to have been maintained by someone or something as not even moss has grown on it. The wall has ancient writing on it, indecipherable to the players, though above the text is some kind of carving.

The carving appears to be a man in some kind of armor reaching up to the night sky, the swirling stars from last night being present above him.

"Eleanor, what is this? What is this place?" Lily asked, her curiosity piqued as she tried to make heads or tails of the drawing.

"I honestly couldn't tell you, this place was forbidden to venture into for years." She looks over the depiction more carefully. "Perhaps it's an earlier great lord? From before the new age?"

"Must be really old then if normal people don't know much about it." Ryder muses before setting his sword down and tracing his fingers over the text. "There has to be something important to this, it was a temple right? Possibly some kind of holy or historic text."

"It won't do us much good now-" Oto pauses before looking closer at the swirling stars. "Ryder, hold the light over here."

As Ryder lifts the light up to it something becomes clear, there's a hole where the darkness would be in the vortex.

Every other piece of stone is perfectly intact, so why is there a hole there?

Without a word Oto reaches into his pocket and produces an oddly colorful looking stone, one that could almost be mistaken for a gem.

"You had a flare stone too?! Where did you guys find them already?!" Lily questioned, clearly a bit surprised that two people had access to them already.

"Easy, a cave on the beach just south east of the town." Oto replies before stepping back. "Now to test and see if my theory is correct… everyone back up and cover your ears."

Slowly everyone backs up and prepares themselves for the loud screeching of the stone.

Oto raises his crossbow and fires a bolt at the stone, upon colliding the bolt breaks and the stone begins to glow brightly. Suddenly the stone becomes blindingly bright and lets out an ear piercing screech but seems to instantly die off this time.

When they look back the stone has become a deep blue, shining beautifully amid the depiction.

Then the depiction itself begins to react and glow as well, first the stars, then the text… then the figure.

As the entire wall lights up the very ground under their feet begins to shake as the stone glows brighter and brighter.

With another brilliant burst of light the cavern before them lights up.

Where once there was nothing but darkness now an illusory night sky hangs overhead, coating the entire cave ceiling and illuminating the ruins.

Blue flame torches lighting up along the stone walls providing more lighting and showing the path.

The once ominous cavern now appears to be some kind of great temple. Many walls with various depictions of the armored man and the stars line the paths.

It was clearly a temple to someone and the effect they had on this world, it was telling a story, just one they couldn't understand.

Eleanor looks around in amazement and awe as the illusory night sky filled her eyes. "This… this isn't just any temple…" she begins to reach her hands up, as if hoping to grasp the stars themselves. She seems completely enraptured with the spectacle before her.

"Hey." Ryder places a hand on her shoulder. "Don't go losing sight of what's important, we still need to get through this place safely."

"I suppose you're right… but we must keep this place a secret from the other lord candidates, we can't have them finding it." Her voice is a bit hushed and worried, though still awestruck and seemingly lost as she keeps her eyes on it.

"Why not? What's so important about this place? Just looks like some old ruins to me." Oto looks around checking for enemies, surprised now to see none.

"Because, this isn't a typical dungeon, not like what you lot are thinking of." Eleanor points up to the stars. "This is the entire history of our world, up until the birth of the new era. If we can get someone who can read the stars then who knows what we'll find."

"Wait, so this temple is like an archive then? Why isn't there anyone protecting it?" Lily chimes in while walking up to Eleanor.

"There are, they are ancient spirits long passed. They don't attack us though as we have respected the sacred grounds thus far." Eleanor slowly lowers her hand, pointing towards a wall. "Look closely, there's one waiting right there."

The group pauses and focuses for a moment, it was hard to see but there was a transparent figure nearly blending into the wall. It had a tall appearance, nearly 7 feet in height. It wore bulky armor the likes of which none of them had seen yet and resting in its hands was an ornate greatsword.

After noticing one they became clearer and clearer, they were surrounded by these ghosts of the past now. Guardians of the temple, all watching them and observing their actions, waiting for something to happen. If they messed up now it would likely be a death sentence, was it even possible to fight this type of enemy?

"Do not worry friends, they will not attack us so long as we respect our surroundings." Eleanor said, trying to reassure the trio.

"They didn't attack us even though we were armed, that's a little surprising." Oto spoke before putting his weapons away.

"Oh but of course, they know many travelers bear arms. Protection is important in these lands, you'd be a fool to travel without some armament." Eleanor began looking around. "And these knights, they're older than any I've ever seen… they're from before the earliest recorded age."

"Meaning their temperament might be different than the mad soldiers running around above." Ryder spoke up as he looked over the knight in front of him.

"Those soldiers are husks, without memories and humanity. These are beings who have transcended the mortal realm. They are part of the great beyond now and remain in their prime. They choose to guard this place rather than being reborn." Eleanor informed them before walking to a rather long hallway. "Here, this is where we'll want to go."

"How are you so sure? There seems to be many paths like it, even some that lead up or down." Oto asked, curious how she knew the correct path.

"In temples like these the head monk resides deep within the main chamber." she points at a giant set of doors at the end of the hall. "The main chamber is where most of the valuable information is stored."

"Ohh how valuable are we talking?! Like treasure locations? Oh or is it stuff like love scandals?!" Lily's excited voice chimed in again as she walked to the front of the group.

Eleanor laughed a little at this, Lily's voice seeming to lighten things up a bit. "It's hard to say for certain, especially with how old this place is. There's only one way to find out."

"Come on then, what are we waiting for?" Lily excitedly ran down the hall, the group following behind her as they reached the door.

There was no telling what would lie on the other side, or how the ghostly knights would respond to the main chamber being opened.

The doors, though incredibly tall, were not impossible to open. Ryder and Oto together slowly pushed them open together, allowing them to enter. As they did so the light from the illusory night sky and blue flames spilled into the pitch black room. Deep and distorted heavy breathing could be heard from inside the chamber, something was still alive and waiting for them.

Unnatural glowing red eyes stared at them from the darkness, the creature's breath growing heavier and faster as it locked onto the party. Emerging from the darkness was a 10 foot tall, lanky looking mummified priest. Where his eyes once where there was now only glowing red energy. A spiked staff was clutched tightly in his hands as he raised it up high above his head before slamming it down. A crimson magic circle with unfamiliar runes appeared beneath him and the room became bathed in a blood red light.

As he let out an unholy sounding screech it became apparent that the fight was about to begin, his name and health bar appearing at the bottom of their hud.

[Priest of the End; Telius.]

With a maddening scream the priest launched himself at the group, raising his spiked staff high up into the air and slamming it down with tremendous force.

Lily and Oto reacted and quickly dodged to either side, while Ryder grabbed Eleanor and barely made it away. The spiked staff was clearly dug into the ground, breaking the stone around it.

"Ryder, is retreat possible?!" Oto yells while raising his crossbow and firing it, the bolt hitting the giant priest in the shoulder. Though the creature seems unfazed as it casually lifts the staff out of the ground.

Quickly Ryder looked back at the entrance they'd walked through, a dark wall of shadows now blocked their path. The hallway could be seen through the gaps but it was unlikely they'd be able to get past it. "No, we're trapped!"

"Alright, we're going to have to play this carefully." Oto reloads his crossbow before slowly beginning to circle the boss. "He's not too high leveled, the bolt inflicted enough damage that it could be seen."

Like Oto mentioned there was a noticeable sliver of health missing from his bar.

"Lily, you capable in a fight?" Oto asks while carefully looking for any opening.

"You're talking to someone who played the beta religiously." Lily starts backing up towards one of the walls. "I'll follow your lead."

"Right, Ryder and Eleanor, you two get in damage where you can." Oto says while switching his knife to a reverse grip. "If you take damage then back up and heal!"

With that the Monk swung wide at Lily, his staff bouncing off the floor and smashing through a pillar in the process. Yet it didn't connect much to everyone's surprise, Lily avoided it. The graceful assassin backflipped and plunged her knife into the wall, hanging from the handle.

"How the hell…" Oto mumbled before rushing in. "Hey, freak! Look over here!" Oto yells before firing another bolt into the priest's back, another sliver of damage appearing on the bar.

This time the priest turned and looked at him, the rotting face shifting as he took a very audible and loud deep breath. His eyes begin to glow brighter before letting out an impossibly loud howl, the room's red light glowing brighter as Oto is hit with a shockwave, he gets launched back and only barely manages to recover. Though the situation doesn't look good, upon recovering Oto can be seen with a bright red circle around him.

"Blood magic?!" Eleanor yells in surprise, attempting to run to Oto's side but only drawing the attention of the priest.

The priest quickly went to attack, raising his staff high in the air and attempting to hit her with a downward swing.

"Eleanor!" Ryder called out, rushing over and pushing her out of the way.

Why had he done that? She was just an npc, it's not like a player's life was in danger.

That was the thought that ran through Ryder's mind as the staff came crashing down at him.

'-because even the npcs are people you know? Just stuck in their own little world like we are. That's why I'm always nice to them, just like how I hope people are nice to you and I.' an old familiar voice rang through his head at that moment, a voice he hadn't heard in quite awhile.

The voice that called him into this world.

That's right, a voice lost, but he wouldn't lose anyone again if he could help it.

"Ryder!"

In an instant the staff comes crashing down on top of Ryder, but it doesn't meet the ground.

Ryder's health drops to half but he's not dead. No, he's still alive.

Ryder is standing there blocking the staff with his sword, the blade humming loudly as he holds it in a defensive position.

With a surge of strength Ryder lets out a warcry and pushes the staff back with all his might, leaving the priest open. "Lily!" Ryder calls out before falling to one knee.

Lily quickly kicks off the wall and lands a diving attack right across the priest's chest, dealing a fair amount of damage and causing him to stumble back.

"Ryder, hold on!" Eleanor says kneeling beside him and chanting a prayer, her talisman glowing with a teal light. Soon the light envelopes Ryder, a calming cooling feeling washes over him, instantly restoring his health.

"What about Oto?" Ryder asks standing up, readying himself to go back on the offensive.

"I already cleansed the blood magic, but be careful… if you get hit by it that spell will destroy you." Eleanor says backing up a little.

"Right, just stay safe..." Ryder says before examining the current battle.

65% health left.

Oto is readying his crossbow again.

Lily is keeping the priest busy by dodging attacks.

Without wasting a moment Ryder runs over to Oto. "Oto, do you have any more of those flare stones?"

"Huh? Yeah I do but they don't do damage." Oto replies, firing off another bolt to chip away at the priest's health bar.

"We don't need them to, just give me one and follow my lead." Ryder says, holding his hand out.

Only hesitating a moment, Oto reluctantly hands Ryder the stone and follows him out of cover.

Ryder runs up and slices through the priest's right leg, causing him to stagger and stop focusing on Lily. The priest turns to look at Ryder, taking another clear deep breath. Unlike last time though Ryder throws the stone at his face. "NOW!" his voice rings out loudly through the chamber.

Oto lets loose the bolt, hitting the stone dead on and activating it. The blinding light and screeching dazing the priest as he stumbles back, covering his eyes with one hand while his staff thunks to the ground as it leaves his hand.

Lily, seeing an opportunity, quickly rushes in, diving and slashing the priest across the back.

Oto runs up the staff and delivers a strong kick to the head followed by a stab to the neck.

Their knives caused a surge of blood loss, causing the priest to falter and stumble backwards.

Not wanting to waste the opportunity Ryder quickly took up the two handed stance again and charged forward. Leaping high into the air the blade hummed once more as he delivered a strong jumping attack to the priest, knocking him back into the wall now.

25% left.

"Good idea, let us get in some good damage" Oto says, moving back to Ryder's side alongside Lily and Eleanor.

"What do we do about the rest?" Lily asks, concerned. "I'm really getting exhausted, I can't keep jumping around like this forever."

"I've got a plan, just follow my lead" Ryder says, readying himself once more. "Eleanor, I'll need your help specifically."

The priest stands tall once more, eyes glowing even fiercer as it lets out a loud howl, marking everyone with the blood magic.

Ryder grits his teeth, charging forward through the roar, the mark glowing brighter as he runs closer to the priest. Each passing second the magic circle glowing brighter and brighter as the priest focuses on Ryder. Until finally the spell goes off. Ryder is hit with four spears of blood, all piercing him through the stomach. His health drops to almost nothing as the priest keeps howling.

Yet the knight doesn't give in, still charging forward he drags the blade along the ground, creating a trail of sparks as he approaches the priest. "Shut your trap!" he yells out, striking the priest across the knees, bringing him down to their level in an instant and silencing the spell.

Not even giving the priest a moment Oto quickly fires off another bolt, hitting the monster in the eye and stabbing him in the side with his knife. Lily dashes in as well, going for a vicious combo of quick slashes across his arms and chest, a trail of blood looking like ribbons flowing from his body at this point.

All the damage added up quickly, causing the priest to double over, using his hands to support himself now as he stared down the group.

Eleanor quickly moves to Ryder's side to help him recover, just in time for the final blow, her miracles allowing him to fight once more.

Ryder stands and readies his blade one final time, plunging it into the mad priest's head, right between the eyes.

The health bar drops to 0 and the priest falls over dead, slowly vanishing into beads of azure light.

It was over, they'd beaten the boss.

A surprising encounter and a generous amount of exp, roughly 3 - 4 levels worth.

"When we get back, I'm going to chat with Aranea." Oto said before sitting down. "We really should've had more than just us for that, if it wasn't for the healing and cleansing we would've died." He sighs and shakes his head. "That and your quick thinking… how did you know the boss would be blinded?" Oto asks while looking at Ryder.

"Honestly? It was a shot in the dark." he shrugs before sitting down as well. "Knew we had to try something, and that was better than nothing."

"Ah so we could've actually died then… good to know." Oto lets out a sigh before hanging his head.

Lily just lets out a small giggle before taking a seat as well. "Well hey, at least we made it through the fight alright." She looks around. "Aaaand, we even found a good farming location! After all from what I remember those ghosts drop a good amount of exp."

"That's fair i guess, i'd prefer to be semi prepared before the boss fight next time though." Oto says dejectedly before looking around. "Eleanor? What are you doing?"

The group looks over at Eleanor who, at this point, is knelt down. "The priest dropped this." she says before standing up and turning to them. In her hands is an old dusty tome bound in pitch black leather. "I believe it is a tome of darkness, writing that the grand council considers heretical."

"Really? I guess that explains why the priest was so crazy then." Ryder casually says while looking at the tome. "People get dragged into cult-like stuff pretty often unfortunately."

"Normally you'd be right, but only the grand council fears the darkness… many of the great lords actually saw it as a part of life." she says moving over to them and taking a seat. "From what I heard in the temple I was raised at, even the first true great lord intertwined dark and light to forge his own path."

"Really? Then why is it seen as heretical? Sounds like something that shouldn't be shunned." Lily asks while leaning closer to Eleanor, trying to get a good look at the tome.

"I cannot say… it was one of the changes with the new era ushered in by our great lord." she sighs "He is a grand ruler but things such as this have led many to question him." her hand lightly traces over the cover. "To think even grand priests were questioning his beliefs though… oh what has become of this land?"

"May I see it? I promise I won't go crazy like that old guy." Ryder asks, clearly hoping to get the book away from her.

"Ah, yes, it is truly yours anyways. After all it is you who put the priest to his final slumber." she says before handing it over. Though there's some clear reluctance and fear lingering in her eyes. No not fear, something else, something… longing.

"Thanks, I just want to look it over, maybe see if someone else knows it better back in town." Ryder says while casually looking down at the tome.

Though in his hands something felt wrong about the tome, like something was compelling him to hold onto it. To open it and read through its pages. Like a tiny little voice in the back of his mind egging him on to just take one little read. The darkness of the leather was insurmountable on its own, almost seemingly like an impossibly dark void gazing into him. It felt like whatever was inside would both condemn and save him at the same time.

All he had to do was take one little look.

"Ryder! Are you okay?! Snap out of it!" Oto's voice called, though it seemed distant it was still enough to get his attention.

"What? What's up?" Ryder asked, visibly confused.

"You've just been blankly staring at that cover for five minutes not responding to a thing we said!"

"Five minutes? No, that can't be right. I only looked at it for a moment." Ryder replies, tensing his grip on the tome.

"It's true, we were about to carry you back to town if you wouldn't respond." Lily said worriedly, her eyes showing clear hints of unease and fear.

Ryder is taken aback by this information and looks back at the tome for a moment, only a moment. That same feeling began to develop, like his soul was being drawn into an endless ocean of darkness. That if he kept looking for a second longer he wouldn't be able to look away again. Not until he knew the contents.

"Alright, this tome is staying with me." Ryder said before looking around. "This thing is clearly cursed or something and I'm not letting anyone else be affected by it until we know what it is."

"Well do you have a plan on how to transport it back?" Eleanor asked, slightly concerned.

"Yes actually, this tattered cape all us knights start with." Ryder says before reaching over his shoulder and pulling it off with surprising ease.

He then tears the fabric slightly and wraps the tome tightly in it, sealing it away for the time being and using the remaining bits of cloth to tie it to his waist. Just on the other side of the sword sheath.

"You sure you want to take that back to town with us?" Oto asks standing up now.

"I'm sure, this thing is part of some bigger picture, I can feel it." Ryder says, patting the tome at his side. "And I'm sure that this is just the beginning of it." He smiles as he looks around before pausing and remembering something. "But first we should probably finish mapping this place out…"

With a small laugh Lily produces a bit of parchment and some charcoal. "Well then let's get it done!"

A small sigh escapes Oto and Ryder as they stand up and continue the journey through the dungeon… a long trek was ahead of them, and a rather uneventful one at that.