Interlude 2 – Preparations and Movements

The goddess Artemisia walked out of 'The lair of the Lizard Lord' after placing the reward for Evan's quest within it. She looked at the adventurers who could not see her and heaved a sigh as she scanned their levels.

'Aidos, it's been a while since I've been down here'

She then felt a gaze on her and clicked her tongue before speaking.

"It's rude to peek on a lady"

A familiar notification board appeared in front of her with a reply.

[Says the thief that stole from me]

"It's not stealing if the one the item was taken from is aware."

[Sophistry.]

"So? It was not yours in the first place."

[Are you really going to give him 'that'?]

"Yes, is there something wrong?"

[No, I just thought you may have overlooked something, seems I was wrong]

The reply she received made her narrow her eyes, she was sure she checked everything thoroughly. She took a deep breath before asking just to be sure.

"Did you see anything?"

[I never checked in the first place, I dislike using the power of time for such trivialities.]

She rolled her eyes at the response.

The being she was talking to was one who was powerful enough to see the future even if he did not want to, his words were him simply trying to mess with her.

She sighed one more before activating her teleportation magic.

Looking at the dungeon one last time, she thought.

'I double checked and there was nothing suspicious, it's safe, he's just trying to scare me'

She then disappeared the moment after, not a single person noticing her from start to finish.

Not a single person on Aidos noticed the goddess that they worshipped, had just triggered a dungeon break.

◇ ◇ ◇

The 'Beast King' Kolvar rose from his throne in the garden and stared at the night sky.

His eyes seemed to glow like the stars as he studied the constellations and spoke to no one in particular.

"It's beginning, huh?"

He turned and walked back into his castle.

To prepare.

For the Coming battle.

◇ ◇ ◇

The 'Elven Emperor' Zaos sensed it.

The spirits were sad.

Yet they were also happy.

Contradicting feelings.

The one they loved had appeared.

However, the one they loved sided with the one they hated.

He turned to his daughter who stood beside him with her eyes closed.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, father."

She opened her eyes and looked in the direction of the Alpha continent.

In her eyes, a crest could be seen.

A single letter.

From an Ancient language lost to time.

It meaning;

'Destruction'

◇ ◇ ◇

The 'Strongest Human' Rathal rose from his bed.

He ignored the women clinging to his body and walked to the window.

Picking up a stone slate from the table beside it, he smiled.

He stared in the direction of the Dark Continent in the north.

Then he looked towards the west and spoke.

"They've returned."

On the stone slate, seven symbols could be seen.

Seven ancient letters with different meanings.

The letters that had been dull for years, finally glowed like they were supposed to.

◇ ◇ ◇

Evan saw himself in a broken world.

An Exploding sun.

A broken moon.

And earth shattered beyond repair.

He sat down on a hill of corpses as he gazed at this apocalyptic scenery.

Dropping his sword, he spoke.

"I need to rest."

From behind, a voice answered.

"Worry not, I shall grant you the rest you deserve."

He turned to the source of the voice.

But his consciousness was fading already.

The last thing he saw.

Were a glowing pair of red and blue eyes.

◇ ◇ ◇

Evan woke up on the bed and looked around before sighing in relief. His expression quickly changed into a frown as he came to a realisation.

'Why can't I remember my dream anymore?'

He clicked his tongue and jumped off his bed before walking out of the balcony and staring at the night sky.

'If only it remained a game...'

He sighed and looked at the papers on his desk.

"The years passed by so quickly, can't believe this body is already seventeen."

He began to reminisce about the events of the past five years, starting from the night he left the duke's residence.