章 81: Family Feud (IV)
"Curiosity can get you killed. Let's go." Zeraph walked ahead. He was getting tired of staying down in this dark and dreary place.
Small bugs like fireflies began to appear before them. Yellowish orange lights lit up the dark cavernous room. Carved into the walls of the cave were faces of the heroes that saved the Fire Continent. Each statue was roughly carved out, and it reminded him of the work of an amateur artist. There were many different types of cracks and crevices that seemed either manmade or from wear and tear. Even though there were thousands of small fireflies, it was still difficult to see what was real. A couple times he had to whack the bugs away from entering his nose or crawling on his face.
"They are so beautiful." Scion reached up towards the fireflies. A couple landed on the tips of his fingers. "I wonder what they are all doing here." He looked at Zeraph for answers.
Zeraph kept on walking past Scion. He had a quest to complete, and he was getting sick and tired of walking endlessly in the never-ending maze. If this was the end, he would be grateful to be out of here.
Scion let the fireflies go and ran after Zeraph. It wasn't a horrible place to be. The fireflies created a very mysterious feel around the area. Even the large statues brought up questions that he normally didn't think about having. The game had eaten up quite of bit of time.
Since entering this dungeon, he had felt like he was on a constant walk to nowhere. He wondered when it was going to all end, and now they were finally somewhere different. The fireflies parted ways to let them through, and many followed behind them. For some reason the fireflies swarmed together behind Zeraph's back and stuck closely to him.
"Sir." Scion gaped at Zeraph. "Sir."
"Yes, Scion."
"You have a cape made of fireflies."
"What?" Zeraph looked over his shoulder. He could just barely see the fireflies fluttering behind him like a cloak. "What the…?"
He reached over his back, trying to swat them away. They buzzed around out of harm's way and came back into formation. Scion giggled as he watched Zeraph trying his best to get rid of them. Finally he gave up and left them alone.
"Tch. What's with these pests."
"I don't know sir, but it seems like they are interested in you. Look, more are coming your way." Scion giggled even louder as he watched Zeraph being overwhelmed by more fireflies. It looked like the shining sun was covering his whole body from head to toe. It was an armor made of glowing fireflies.
"These pests just won't go away." He swatted at them, but they came back into place. "I give up."
Zeraph finally exited the bridge and started down a hallway. The fireflies brightly lit up the area, making it much easier to see. Upon reaching the end of the hallway, he arrived at an empty dark cave.
"You serious? Another dead end?"
The fireflies burst into flames and caught Zeraph on fire.
"Damn it, they were a trap!" Zeraph tried his best to quell the fire, but instead it blazed brighter and stronger. Nothing was stopping it from dying down.
"Sir!" Scion yelled with concern. He rushed over, trying to help Zeraph.
"Move back!" Zeraph commanded Scion. He did not want Scion to die in vain.
"But sir!"
"I'm fine. It's not harming me."
"Sir?"
"I said step back." Zeraph held his hand out to stop Scion from moving too close.
The fire burst outward in six different directions from Zeraph and formed into a circle. A powerful burst of flames completely encompassed him in a dome. All Zeraph could do was stand still and let the fire run its course. If he wasn't going to get harmed, he was okay for now.
"Sir!" Scion moved back, shielding himself from the massive fire. The hot flames licked against his skin.
Zeraph stood still, waiting for it to end. The fire swirled with a different variety of colors and twisted around him like a tornado. The fire brightened and burned down into a simmer as all the flames converged into one small firefly creature. It whizzed and flew like a bee as it swirled around him. It whisked up into the air and flew down onto the ground like a hawk swooping down onto its prey.
It burst into flames as it hit the ground and spread out, forming into words. Magic sigils spread around it like wildfire.
The King has fallen, fallen, fallen, no more will he reign.
People cried out rejoicing,
The maiden's child has been brought back.
Let us rejoice…
The fiery words turned pitch black as they seemed to scream out in agony. They roared to life and disappeared into the ground. The ground cracked and rumbled. Zeraph faltered onto his knees.
This was not going well, and he was clueless on what to do next. The ground split open as if the world fell into pieces. Thin translucent sheets rose up and surrounded Zeraph like a flower sprouting from the ground opening up and encasing him in it.
Scion ran forward, banging onto the wall, which had the consistency of a stiff gel.
"Sir! Sir! Are you okay?"
"I told you I'm fine, Scion."
"But sir." Scion begin to tear up. "Please don't die! Please don't leave me!" he cried out with fear. The walls caved in slightly as he furiously slammed his fists into the lotus bud.
A powerful blast of energy threw Scion back onto the floor. "Sir…" He raised his hands up towards Zeraph but fell onto the ground unconscious.
The ground trembled as it split apart. The stone walls and ground moved like a giant mechanism. The platform raised and lowered around him, and he pulled out his sword to hack through his bindings. The gel-like lotus bud was cut through like water and resealed itself.
"What in the…?"
Confused, he slowly reached up towards the gel. His finger bypassed it without any problems at all. All it took was to simply walk through and he was able to leave without harm.
Hopping over from block to block, Zeraph moved over to Scion. Checking his pulse, he noticed that he was still okay.
"What the hell is going on?" Zeraph watched as the contraption moved in a specific pattern. The lotus flower grew larger and larger.
Small contraptions opened in the sides of the walls. Water gushed forward and streamed down heavily onto the ground. More and more filled the area as the sound of water spilled through the openings. With a rumbling of the gushing water, Zeraph could not stay in one place for too long.
"Damn kid. To be sleeping at this moment." He grabbed Scion roughly by the back of his shirt and threw him over his shoulder like a sack. "Your lessons will double when we get out of here," he mumbled. It was a pain to carry an extra body and jump around trying to avoid the water.
Jumping from one moving platform to another, he reached the top where the flower bulb resided. The water was rising fast, and the entrance was already blocked. There were no escape routes for him now.
"Curses. I should have left without him and it would've been fine. Kid, wake up." He smacked him a couple of times in the head.
"Sir?" Scion groggily woke up. He was having a difficult time orienting himself. "Where are we?"
"Same place. In a trap. No time for you to sleep," Zeraph scolded. He was not too keen on staying any longer, but he did not have a way out.
"Sir. What if we go back into the lotus? Would that protect us?" Scion gazed curiously up at Zeraph. The idea hit him like a brick wall.
"We don't know until we try." Walking over towards the flower bud, Zeraph wondered if they could enter back into the bud. Placing his hands onto the hard shell he waited. Nothing. Only the soft texture of the bud could be felt when he touched it with his skin.
"Sir, you should try harder. The water is rising too fast. In a couple of minutes, we will be submerged," Scion whined with fear in his voice. The gushing water was already up to the edge of the platform where the flower bud was. Drawing his knife, Zeraph stabbed into the flower. A loud clink was heard and the knife broke perfectly in half.
"No way." Zeraph was amazed. He could not believe that a flower had defeated his knife.
With a glowing bright light, the bud slowly unfurled into a transparent rose. Its clear crystal petals gleamed majestically. The bud reminded him of delicate glass.
"Sir. Sir. It's opening." Scion left Zeraph and ran over to the flower bud. He pushed himself up and climbed into it.
"What are you doing?"
"Getting into safety sir. I believe it will protect us, and the water is rising quickly."
Scion got into the middle of the bud as if it was nothing. Zeraph also followed after. He did not know where this was going to lead, but it was a chance he was going to take. This flower was the only thing in the middle of the room. There was nothing else around him but the raised platforms that were now submerged in water. The only platform that wasn't under water was the one they were on.
"Quickly sir. It's already gotten to your knees." Scion held out his hands for Zeraph to take. "Brat. Already thinking about saving me? You've got a long way to go." Grabbing his hands, he hoisted himself up into the flower. The flower felt soft and warm. It did not feel anything like the cold hard glass that he thought it would resemble.
The flower hummed with life as golden pollen escaped from its core.
"What is this?" Scion nervously asked. His eyes drooped with sleepiness. "It's seems like it's some kind of sleeping sp-" He was knocked out in seconds.
Zeraph stumbled forward with his hands on his head.
"That damn kid. He fell aslee—" Zeraph collapsed onto the flower and went into a deep slumber.
The water rose and the flower encased them, protecting them from the splashing waves. It was submerged into the water and had begun to slowly descend. The world around him became dark and blurry. A message appeared before him.
The preliminary stage of the Seed Shard Quest has been activated.
Special Announcement.
World update.
All players throughout the world will be forced to logout of the server shortly. The final stage of the Special Hidden Quest: Alpha Division will begin in the real world. Please check the quest update on your Alive gear for more information. Thank you for playing Growth.
The world before him shifted and changed. It had become fuzzy like static electricity. An eerie sharp static like sound resounded around him echoing off into the distance. A phrase appeared on the static screen. "Are you ready?" and the world turns completely black. Zeraph was ejected of the world of Growth and was brought back to real world.
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