]]][][]][]
Five days three hours forty three minutes after the wedding\engagement party
As white held onto his uncle's bloodied broken body, as his screams of sorrow as his last and only living relative died in his arms, the light of the Cardinal Yui appeared. Yet she uttered no words, nor did she acknowledge anyone's presence, yet in what would seem like a second she vanished along with her, the body of Black with her.
''Where!'' White screamed, as he gritted his teeth in rage that neared the point of madness, the Captain of the Golden Lions stopped him from saying anything else
''Go to the Castle! Your uncle will be there, that's the only place other than the Council chambers'' the Captain said to White. ''The rest of you tell me where'' he ordered, his voice held no ounce of forgiveness for anyone that dared antagonize him at the moment.
''It's a good place, that monster'' a man began to say, only for the Captain to shut him up
''I said where'' said the Captain, this time his very power seeping thru as his sword began to glow
''I won't betray'' the man answered only for the Captain to decapitate him instantly
''Find out what they know, if they don't know where they were get them out of here. As for this one, get a Fairy that specializes in dark magic, find out what he knows and make every moment more painful than the last
''Sir'' one of his brothers began, only for the Captain to stop him.
'''Three, Five, you two are staying keep things working until we get back'' the Captain ordered the third and the Fifth ''Everyone else this is a Life Mission, nothing not even the Earth itself is allowed to live in that area, anyone that refuses to carry out this order leave now.'' he said to the rest of the Golden Lions present
''As for everyone else, I'm afraid only us Players can do this, protect the Kingdom'' the Captain finished, yet the amount of hate laced in every word could have poisoned any living thing near him.
[]][][[
At the Council chambers the alarm had gone of, even as its screeching sounds echoed through its vast halls, Players both active and not received the message.
A Player was dying, truly dying and it wasn't done by a Cardinal's punishment. Something out there had the power to kill them, something out there, could strip them of the one thing that united them all. The life fire that proved they all came from the same word.
The first to arrive was the leader of the Blood knights, the Human section previously known as the Knights of Blood ''What happened'' he demanded, even as he was just dressed in underwear and nothing else, his words held no tolerance for games at the moment
''I don't know, we only been keeping an eye on the troublemakers'' answered the Red Fairy
''There had better be a good reason for this'' screamed the leader of the Knights of Blood, as he locked eyes on his Human counterpart, the later however didn't even acknowledge the Fairy
''Sir, the Cardinals have sent us the last mission Back was on'' said a soldier as he ran in
''It was Black'' said the man in the Black Suit, as he placed his hands on his head now feeling the amount of weight of the events that were to come ''This is bad, how many people know about this'' he continued
''The Golden Lions are calling in for help from any allies they might have. The Iron Legs are already calling in the Howling Commandos, the seven sisters have spoken to the Dwarfs, towards getting out. We can't contain this'' said the leader of the Leprechauns
''What happened to his partner'' the man in the Back Suit asked
''He's been seen entering the Flying Castle'' answered the same guard as before
''Why is he so important'' asked the representative of the Krogans, as he walked in
''Before the walls of Santa Maria and Odin existed we fought an endless war just to unite ourselves, we were assaulted by everything. The plants themselves, were our enemies and the people within the city ,there was nowhere safe.
During that time, great heroes rose and lead the defense, he was one of them.'' answered the Patron of the Iron Legs as he walked in
''Forgive me for intruding on this delicate moment'' he said '' I bring eight hundred lives for this mission'' he said before he walked out, preventing the Council from saying anything against his announcement only for the leader of the green Fairies to stop him
''And what good would they do, if something could kill one of us, then your only turning your men into canon folder'' he said
''This has to be done by us players alone'' continued the leader of the Leaf Fairies
''With your permission I would like to do something'' the Patron of the Iron Legs said as he placed his hands on the walls of the Council Chambers, turning it into a Cathedral, he immediately kneel'de down and prayed.
Briefly remembering the events that happened during the time of madness they had gone thru so long ago
''GO,go,go go!''someone screamed ''Get those N.P.C.'s to the Castle, they're coming'' he continued
''Say where you are, shooters, get to those buildings, anyone that can get those cars running get to.'' someone said behind him, as he turned to see who it was the Patron of the Iron Legs, at that moment saw Black, with White following behind him. Their armors dripping in blood
'Well set up our defensive line here, if we loose this area we loose the city….Then where will we go'' Black said as a group of people behind him flipped whatever cars were near them, using them for cover
''Excuse me'' said the Patron of the Iron Legs as he walked out of the Council chambers
''It's bad'' said the man covered in shadow, as he looked at his help screen ''They're all members of the domino's, more than half of them don't even fight any more'' he finished informing his fellow Councilors
''There is no avoiding this, activate Black book tell them to take Mars now. If there is something that can kill us here, what can say we might not run into something else later on'' said the Man in the Black suit, as he looked at his fellow Councilors, hoping one would be against him. Sadly none did.
Black Book A Lifetime of Death
][][][][]
Black smoke lifted itself from several chimneys, the men and woman that burned the wood could be seen crying. Far from there in the many battlefields of Earth, soldiers were ordered to stop their advancement and hold the line for whatever time was needed. Those whose missions were almost complete or simply were in a far to delicate spot to stop, were allowed to continue unhindered.
In the Flying Castle a man slams his fist into the wooden table, his wife a Crystallized N.P.C shakes in fear, not because of his act of rage, but for the image of what she saw. The broken body of Black and worst of all his helmet was off, no one had seen his face. No one except his partner White and a single warrior woman.
Or so the stories said and now the once powerful image was replaced by a broken mans at the edge of death.
Shew tried to say the words, she tried to utter a sentence but how could she she knew of this man, her husband spoke of him, when he drank and how one day he would pay him in full.
She tried to say to him to stay, even as she stretched out her hands, but how could she, when she saw her husband's eyes at the verge of tears.
''I am the edge of the sword'' her husband began to chant, instantly calling forth his green knight armor, that held no significant insignia's, after all he was a low rank Player. Even as he walked away, he kissed his sleeping son on the forehead, as he slept he gave her the most passionate kiss, they have had in years and walked out the door, knowing full well he might not return.
Even as he did this, others similar to himself did the same, be them men ar woman, they held onto their sons and embraced their daughters. They did whatever deed, they needed to show their husband\wives that they loved them and walked away, their destination the Golden Lions Palace.
''I am the Tip of the spear'' said a man as he looked at his children whom he had gathered into his home, as he called forth his armor revealing to them and his wife his secret.
Their eyes however were filled with horror, they had heard stories of the Players, granted they had never seen them, but they called something beyond monsters and they were children of one. His wife however knew what this meant, something terrible had happened and he needed to go.
''The blunt of the hammer'' utter the leader of the Tshh tribe of the Orc faction, ''Our allie has fallen, the same one who united our tribe with the Cardinal Yui. Will we forgive the one who did it!'' he screamed.
Only to receive the slamming sounds of swords hitting shields, and huge battle hammers slamming onto the ground 'Waaa!'' he finished, before he lead them to the nearest teleportation platform.
''The strength of the shield'' said a woman as she held on to her infant daughter, before she laid her down on her cribe ''Take good care of her'' she told an N.P.C as her U.S Marine combat suit manifested itself on her ''If something happens'' she said before the N.P.C woman stopped her
''You know, that I won't let anything happen'' the N.P.c answered, as she held onto the womens hand
''And the hope of the People'' spoke a rogue, as he place his sniper rifle on his back ''Let's go'' he ordered his men
The city of San Andreas had not seen such an army in along time, for the army that marched through it, heading to the only teleporter that lead directly to Blacks last Location was right in the center of the refugee hospital.
Yet no man, nor woman dared to speak against them, as the sheer power of the original defense army was comparable to the highest Players around. These were the men, woman, Orcs, Dwarfs, tamed beast, robots and what few mutants remained, that helped create\build, the Wall of Santa Maria.
Together they had seen hell and managed to come back out, now they willingly walked right back in, hell bent on taking a Devil's head.
As this was happening near far of the Council Chambers an announcement was being made.
''Prisoners of Black Book, you have been called forth. Finish this mission and you get perks. One; prevent a number of Nuclear power plants from going bom and part one is done.
Two; kill everything, no exceptions if they get in your way, if not leave them alone.
Three; make sure none of our colonist find out you're there, if they do just don't kill them.'' announced a guard
''Ohh yeah before I forget, you all now get to buy things. Drinks, women expensive furniture and so on, those of you that want out, this is a life mission, so there you go.
So there are no mix ups, this mission is separate from your points'' he said as he turned to walk away
''What about guns'' a man screamed
''We dealt with that issue, so go nuts get as many guns and bullets you want. They sure as hell won't work on us or any citizen. Burt those monkeys aren't citizens are they. Go have fun, but do it after your work is done'' he said as their armors were delivered in, polished and brand spanking new.
][][][]][][[]][]
As the screeching sounds of the alarms went off, the Golden Lions along with the knights and what few people could be mastered ran up to the main teleportation platform. Tho they all prepared their weapons, ready to meet whatever came from it, they all knew that no enemy could come thru it.
Yet not even their own respective leaders cold comprehend the sheer complexity of what they saw, before them.
No words were uttered, no greetings said, no hands were shaken, they were like death itself. The Captain of the Golden Lions himself, only bowed his head, as the walked passed him.
This act alone, made the common staff of his palace kneel down in a form of respect.
Men and woman, who barely wore anything at all, marched dead ahead, either covered by cloaks, that kept them in constant shadows, soldiers that merely held bows and arrows, to sharp shooters all of which had an animal besides them.
Behind them, soldiers that displayed the banners\flags of various kingdoms\countries marched each foot was carefully placed alongside their brothers and sisters, making them look as if they one and the same.
After them Orcs, dressed in a typical Orc was, just their weapons and cloth to cover their genitalia, behind the Orcs wearing iron breastplates, shoulder and knee guards. Their long black hair, tusk covered mouths and and dark brown skin, said full well who they were.
Theses were the Orc leaders.
Behind them Orks that could barely contain their rage their madness, followed. Their green skin, burned with the green madness, their eyes reflected their insanity.
Yet this was merely the beginning, iron titans marched behind them, the servants knew that men were inside these armors. For the Golden Lions used them as well. Their steps caused the ground itself to shake, there wasn't even the slightest hint of flesh, but the servants knew there a Player in there somewhere.
Immediately after, horses, lions, dogs and an assortment of beast followed, with them in each group a single person walked.
Then they followed, machines made of iron and ceramics, the servants had seen pictures of them, their masters called them Tanks, behind them monstrosities that walked on two legs followed shortly after.
Yet they all said no words.
Despite the size and the weight of the equipment they carried, these were not mortal man and woman, they soon marched straight thru the towns and villages. Many screamed and ran in fear, while others that had seen their Lords do this before, simply watched.
In the people's faces the soldiers could see their feelings, terror, no it was beyond terror, then among's the crowd a single smiling face shone like a beacon of light.
Her long blond hair, simple brown dress, and joy filled smile greeted them. As she threw flowers at their feet, behind her a small boy did the same.
As a flower fell on the one of the titans feet, he stopped looked at them drew his sword and handed it to the boy. The boy hesitated for a moment and then he took it.
''A gift for a gift'' the titan\knight said, before he sped up to to walk alongside his fellow soldiers who had left him behind. In his hand he took the flower that had fallen at his feet, when had he picked it up no one knew and no one cared. For the sword he had left behind glew, as if powered by the stars as the boy held it.
''Guts put it down'' the girl said
''A crusade'' a man spoke behind them ''The champions of the saints, they march in a true crusade and the boy has been given one of their blades'' he continued as the people around them separated and made a wide breath around them.
Yet the sounds of of a chain falling could be heard by them, as a golden necklace fell onto the girl dropped by a blue colored eagle, before it flew into a group similar to it. Like the sword it glowed nut ice danced around her feet.
''They have been chosen'' someone said as the soldiers kept walking past them. Then the thunderous sounds of the heavy tanks , caught their attention, followed by the shaking land as the meks behind me walked leaving everyone speech less.
Back at the Golden Lions center Castle a single figure walked out of the teleporter, Kirito the Black Swordsman, king of the flying castle stepped thru.
''Sorry for the inconvenience but, the main group, won't be coming true until later, we're only going to do some cleaning up.'' Kirito said, as he looked at the Captain of the Golden Lions, who in turn looked at him with disgust.
''You have a lot of nerve coming here.'' said the Captain of the Golden Lions
This caused an uneasy silane to occurred between the two of them, as they stared at each other.
''What's happening'' asked the Fifths wife, not knowing the history between the two men
''Kirito, is a traitor to Humanity. He married a Fairy, witch opened the Flying Castles doors to them, while they deny the Flying Castles people entrance to the higher floors of their precious tree.'' the Fifth answered, the level of poison in his words, could be felt by his wife
As she gasped ''Then that would mean'' she began only to be interrupted by, the thirds woman
''Yes Lord Kirito, is the King of the Flying Castle, meaning he's the Golden Lions former King, before the Lions abandoned the Castle and settled here.'' said the Thirds woman, as she placed her hands on the Fifths wife ''Please step back, we will only hinder them.'' she continued
This caused the young girl to nearly miss the sounds of metal sliding from metal, the Golden Lions present were drawing their swords.
''Enough'' said a voice of a man that stepped thru the white marble floor, with the strange crystal inside it. ''Kirito, will go with the rest of Domino, I will stay here, is that a problem Mark'' the man said, as he looked at the Captain of the Golden Lions.
''Second in command of Domino. It's been a long time sir'' the Captain said, as he lowered his sword
''I wish this was a better time'' the man answered ''I wish I could bring my wife, so she could meet you and see your kingdom. I wish my daughter could play with the snow and that my boy could chase the girls as we drink and speak of times long since gone.'' the man answered, before grinding his teeth
''But instead we see each other like this'' he said
''The Cardinals are scanning Blacks bodie, he's still alive but. Yi said that whatever they used on him, it turned of his restraints, his body couldn't take it and it shut down. You know how we're all starting to feel the pain,he felt it all at once, plus he was fighting.'' Kirito said, as the rest of the Golden Lions present held their swords at his neck.
''One of two things are going to happen. Either we kill Ainz or we wipe every living thing under his control.'' the Captain said
''First we wait, Blacks last moments will be sent to us, so we can know what happened and what we will encounter'' continued the man
''Let him go'' the Captain ordered the Lions ''Get out of my castle, you filthy traitor'' he said to Kirito, tho the Captain didn't even look at him
Kirito for his part simply closed his eyes and walked out the door, none of the Golden Lions even spoke to him. Their eyes however showed something no one would have expected, they held pity and nothing more
As Kirito walked out the door, passed thru the vast halls of the Lion's Castle he remembers a moment from those days that seemed so long ago.
Past
The whistling sounds of missiles dropping, before hitting the floor and exploiting
''How did they get missiles'' a knight screamed
''Kirito, aren't the N.P.C's done putting those post up!'' said a knight wearing a white armor
''Yeah! but '' Kirito answered, only to be cut off
''Sir were under heavy fire, Call of Duty N.P.C's!'' the same knight answered, before he screamed as fre began to rain down from the sky
''Dragon!'' Kirito screamed, warning his fellow players, before a cold breeze stopped the flames. A beast tamer, riding an ice Dragon had arrived. As her ice dragon let out its ice blast, freezing the enemy N.P.C's, she unleashes a hell of gunfire, from the gatling gun attached to the dragon's back
Kirito ran up to to the knight, no knowing what he was about to see, only to find the burned cooked remains of the man who somehow, was still alive.
''Mark drink this, you'll be okay'' Kirito screamed as he shoved a potion down the Captain of the Golden Lions mouth, which instantly healed the man
Present
As the cold winter wind met Kirito's face, he was instantly brought back from his memories. The world changes. Being king forces you to learn that, just like fighting in a meaningless war did. He thought to himself
Yet as these events were unfolding far from there an event similar to it was unfolding. For the hated prisoners of Black book were being set free, a simple drop ship experimental, built by Human and Krogan hands delivered their teleportation platform onto the other side of the planet Mars, ensuring that the colonist of Red book remained unaware of them.
Women whose bodies were the very definition of beauty were the first to stepped thru, their long black, blond, red and light brown hairs waved in the wind,their armors shined with the Martian sun. Their thing, supple bodies, could simply entice any man or woman to do their bidding, just for a chance to spend one night with them.
Behind them men wearing skull masks walked out, covered from neck down in a tight, form fitting body armor. With a simple hun at their side. Their eyes glowed red with anticipation.
Behind them a series of different robots, the size of soccer balls hovered. Holding a simple gun on the front side their job was to scan and give the extermination teams whatever information they needed, if it had it that is. The inmates of black book called it, the Eye bot.
Immediately after, knights dressed in heavy armors walked thru, by game terms they would be called Tanks. For their armors let no signs of them being Human, each of them were covered head to toe in in heavy medieval armor.
At each one of their sides a ,Mr Handy robot flew to help them reach heavy radiated areas.
Finally like birds being let loose onto the sky, Fairy Players flew, each one of them immediately summoned familiars created by their own magic and ordered them to find every ape passable.
Yet no words were said, no goodbyes were uttered, as they all went their separate ways. The woman walked into the forest, while the heavy armored knights walked in the direction of the nearest city, yet the men wearing the skull masks instantly vanished using their stealth fields.
As for the fairies they simply flew in search of their prey, giggling the entire time.
][][][[]]
Yet even as these events unfolded within the Council Chambers, the meeting continued.
''We need to strike now!'' screamed a blue Fairy, as he slammed his fist on the table in front of him
''And how the hell do you expect us to to that, from what we got from the survivors. Black fought that things in one of its territories'' answered the Red Fairy
''Their growing in number. It's not just us, anyone that fought when were were just starting Santa Maria, is coming back. The Lizard men from the East, the Licans from the West, the Serpent men from the South and the Shadow Tribes from the North.
These are the allies we made, before the Skavan war'' said the man covered in shadows, as he kept himself informed about the situation
''The sad reality is that this war is unavoidable and unlike anything else Ainz can be placed under Sakavan level treat. He has to be placed on a level all his own. Ainz Level treat.
If the Skavans are an endless army, then Ainz is a single powerful being, no where near Cardinal level, but dangeruss non the less'' said the man in the Black Buit
''A true boss, outside of his designated area'' said the Leader of the Leprechauns, as he let his words hang in the air
''We need more world to mine, but we can't terra'form them by bringing in another world. Its pointless to do so'' he continued
''True, where could mine them with the atmosphere\ozone machines, we found on the Moon, but why?'' asked a Valkyrie leader `
''You think anyone is going to just let that place go, no they took it and they are going to want to set up shop. Unless it gets completely wiped out.'' interrupted a Beast Tamer, as the Solo Players entered the Council Chambers
''We need resources, soil, water, plants, animals, stone, steel, hammers and nails'' said a dwarf
''The nearby kingdoms are in high alert,they heard or saw with their own eyes the few Player around them, suddenly stiffen. Something had them spooked and they refused to either leave the most populated areas, or release the pressure on the enemies, if they're still fighting'' said a knight as she walked in
''The villagers from the cities we started up and the towns near them, have their militias near the city walls, in a near constant watch, the allies we made are patrolling the nearby areas, they only send one or two telepathik scouts. If they don't have that then a communication crystal is used.'' informed another solo
''Sorry for calling you scouts in, but we need you to re enforce the city's defenses, in case some thing mages to get thru'' said a man, dressed in a U.S Military suit with all his medals, the moment those words were said all of the Solo Players, walked out of the Council Chambers, their destination, the various walls protecting the city.
''We need a bigger ship, the Dreadnought is working but it's not big enough. There is a huge asteroid belt,so if we melt them together, use the Fairy magic, combined with the Crystal magic from the Flying Castle, along with the Moons and San Andreas tech, we should have a Colony ship or a dam good space station. If we use the Atmosphere machines it should work'' said a knight
''Our mining world already has five domes, three more and we will cover the entire Northern half of the planet, so what you're saying should work. But if we add the fact that if just one, plant melts we lose Mars, we're going to need more than one ship'' said the leading professor of the Moon's research group
'Okay so we bring out two worlds, one using the Castle's information, the other using some broken tech from the city. If one if uninhabitable the other should be more acceptable, of course it will be the bare minimum just in case.'' said the Man in the Black Suit
''We haven't done this since the incident with the Pony.'' said the leader of the Leaf Fairies
''What options do we have'' continued the man in the Black Suit
''We're on it'' the Krogan representative answered, as he used his Omnitool to inform the people in their ship of what their new orders were
]][][][]
Orcs
The dirt dirt crumbled beneath their power feet, his brother fellow Orcs and his adopted clan of Domino. Even as the Human clans, pow were they tribes shied away from them he could see those few that held their ground, both young and were the ones worthy of even having a chance to join his adopted clan.
They reached a gate and jumped to another location, the Lion tribe had grown a great kingdom indeed. Yet it was one forged by multiple tribes, each one had their marks in their kingdom. Yet he understood why, the Lions tribe had concorde a land similar to theirs, one that had beast that could truly cause them harm.
They were about to enter another village so the temperature was lowering, he could see the white bumps in the sky, signaling the winter winds. No the barriers that the Cardinal Yui had set up was keeping the winter away, days like this reminded him of fe first time he had seen Santa Maria.
Past
Metal met flesh, while stone hammer met metal armor, each impact was a testament to the two beings power. The cracking sounds of bones breaking as the stone hammer, hit the black knights armor,the Orc that dealt the decisive blow immediately struck the knights helmet, sending it flying.
Wat met his gaze was not a defeated foe but a man who gave little care for his injuries, his long black hair, brown skin dripping with his own blood, as his fractured skull barely kept his brains from spilling out. The taste of iron filled the air.
The knight immediately took a potion out of somewhere and broke the bottle spilling its contents onto himself, its magical properties instantly haling him, but it was what he had seen it do to the armor drove in exactly what his opponent had done.
The tiniest fractures had repaid themselves, the dents had pushed themselves out and the sounds of bones pooping themselves into place reached his ears, his opponent was ready for the next round.
Next to them a massive tower as high as the eye could see, no he knew that this was once one of the knights peoples buildings, but now it stood covered in a mixture of stones metals, wires and whatever the knights people could gather loosely creating a wall.
Gasping for air the knight spoke ''Why the hell do you want this, can't you see we're doing everything we can just to keep whatever we have in place'' said the knight, as he gasped for air.
His muscles tightened, as he strengthened his grip onto his hammer ''Do you think we aren't the same Human. We Orks are fighting everyday, there isn't anything here for us, yet we can't leave..'' he answered, as his broken tusk reminded him of his injury
''Explain, if I find your answer acceptable then I'll show you something that might help you'' the knight said as he lowered his stance, yet at the same time he didn't drop his guard
His small brown eyes, locked onto his own large nearly black eyes.
''We have fought for generations, Humans are our enemies. I remember the fighting, I remember us feasting, I remember us living. But I can't remember the feeling, this past five years feel more real than my entire life, my tribe is the same.'' he said unsure of his words. For some reason, these last five years the food had tasted great, the water was refreshing, the air tastes like a gift from Heaven and the fighting, this was real.
For some reason those very words always returned.
The knight lowered his guarde ''Gather your tribe, I'll show you. Be warned Orc, if you come alone it will be up to you to bring your people so choose wisely'' the knight said ''By the way you can call me Black'' the knight introduced himself
''I'll go alone'' he answered, as the knight took a crystal out from somewhere. The appeared in a room, that seemed as if it were hanging in the sky and a small child's giggle reached his ears. He turned to see who it was and on that moment something inside him made him kneel.
To see an Ork cry was to see something truly impossible, but he broke down into tears. She had long black hair, a gentle smile, a simple white dress peach colored skin and warm hands.
''One of my children has come home'' she said
''Yui'' he answered, as she held him in her arms, yet he didn't know why he knew that name
Present
The cracking sounds of metal breaking stone brought him back from his memories, they were reaching the edge of the Lions kingdom, snow began to fall all around them. They would reach their destination if a few hours, yet for some reason he couldn't help remembering all those years ago.
Past
''Welcome home '' Yui said as she smiled
''Car..''he hesitated ''Cardenal'' he said his voice but a whisper
''Why so formal? Aren't you happy to see me'' Yui said
''I'm sorry, I just don't'' he began
''Say no more, but we don't have a lot of time. Bring your brothers and sisters so they all can see me, pleas help your cousins'' Yui said, as she pointed at the Knight behind him. Black however simply nodded and walked away, leaving him behind along with yui
''We don't know what's happening'' he began
''Manythings'' Yui said as she smiled, ''We don't have a lot of time left, go'' she said as he was instantly transported back to the wall where he had been fighting with the knight.
\[][]][][
He took one more look at the wall the Humans had created, connecting building to building and uniting them with everything they could fined. He didn't understand why but for some reason the walls were for some reason keeping things from getting thru.
There was more than one wall each one creating a path headed towards the other, the kingdom of lights his people could see at night drew them to it. For some reason he know knew, it was never meant for them.
The earth trembled underneath his feet, no doubt another weapon the Humans were using. The burned earth, ashes and blackened from the countless flames from the unknown amount of times it had been on the receiving end of a misplaced as well as carefully placed attack.
For some reason the leaves seemed greener now, no in reality they had downed but for some reason he didn't question it. All he knew was that they were beautiful.
Still the feeling of being watch lingered in the air, he knew full well who it was, he had been standing there when he arrived and he was certain that that Human was standing there now guarding the wall, making sure that no harm came to it.
''Anything else Human'' he almost spat those words
''Here take these they have the emblem of our group. DSo if you run into any trouble they will help the rest of us know your one of us now.'' the Human said as he walked up to him, handing him a black cross and a white cross.
If the fool thought that he'd been foolish enough to put them around his neck, he was wrong, so he placed them on on his wrist, one on each arm. He still wore those necklaces to day.
Present
''Listen up, we're about to cross the Edge of the Lions territory , so we're about to see a huge change in climate and from what I hear the weather is completely unreliable. So back each other up, keep eachotyher warm and if you can carry each other'' announced one of Domino's leaders
He didn't say anything, for there wasn't a reason for him to add anything. His clan began to pass a red liquid from one to another, the crystal vase never showing the slightest hint of emptying. It continued passing from hand to hand, mouth to mouth, until it was his turn.
He took a deep drink and pass it on, his brothers knew what was coming. The feeling in the air said it all.
''Hey pass it down'' someone's vice said besides him as he turned to see who it was, he saw a man with short red hair and blue armor hand him a box filled with bread and cheeses.
''How you guys holding up'' the man said
''There's something in the air, it feels like back then'' he answered
''Yeah, I can't explain it either, but it feels like when we first met. We're going back into hell'' the man answered before he walked away
Past
He walked back to his tribe as they sat together feasting on the carcass of two deer and a couple of rabbits. The forest leaves somewhat itched as they touched his skin, yet the feeling was immediately forgotten, as he neared them.
He could see the women and their muscled stomachs handing the men their food, his mate and her fat belly ate with such joy. He smiled at that. Her wide hips promised a healthy child, their breasts were barely covered by the thin cloth they wore, the same was with their undersides, soon he would be worthy of claiming his second mate but not until he proved he could handle more than one woman.
To claim a woman one needed to push her down, strip her underside and take her, if one couldn't do that then he wasn't worthy of her. It was a task easier said than done, the women fought back, so one needs to earn his mate, by defeating her.
Many young Orcs lost their first choice this way. Its takes a strong female to bear strong children, but it takes strong Males to father even stronger children. The Orc tribes knew full well of the arts of birth, women were needed yes, but they weren't essential, there is a way for them to have children without females, he knew that all too well, so they all carried their own weight.
Still it was good, to have a lean waist and wide hips at one's side, he knew that all too well. She welcomed him when he came home, there was a warm meal waiting and a decent company. Somehow he felt that she was meant for him.
Still all of this didn't change his task and the sheer importance of it, he needed to take his tribe to her their creator Yui. It was a wonder to him, he had just seen her, but he couldn't help to worship her existence. After all it seemed only natural to do so.
As he approached his tribe the cheers and joy filled conversations seemed to die of, they could see his expression. They knew he had see, found or by the very least had discovered something.
''Brothers I have seen the great spirit, the creator of our tribes, of our clans.'' he said,The expression of those around him, were full of confusion, then of doubt immediately consumed by rage.
''Lies!'' one of his brothers screamed
''Fool'' a female yelled
''Waite, lets hear him'' said the elder, as he walked up to them, as the flames danced around him
''Yui, I have seen her and it is her that calls us to her'' he said
''Yui'' the elder repeated, as if he were remembering something long forgotten ''Take us there'' the elder said, ordering him no it was more, like a demand for it to be done. Behind him, he could see his brothers wanting to voice their disagreement, but no Orc reached the position of elder, just by being old.
No despite his, long grey hair, hunched body, the elder was stronger than most if not all males in the tribe, his skin itself could be called high class armor, similar to the ones the Humans used. But his skill in combat, his trickery and craftsmanship made him a beast in battle.
He was about to answer, when a simple crystal, long rectangular appeared in front of him. The moment his he took it in his hand his entire tribe was taken to the root that hun in the sky, it was like seeing his young for the first time.
Next to him his brothers and sister kneel'ed as they all turned to to see a small figure walking up to them.
''Welcome home''Yui said to them all
][]]][][
To describe being in her presence was to describe breathing itself. Yui was was something the Orks knew but had for some reason forgotten, the air in this place was clean nearly sweet, not in the flavor but in the texture itself.
He could feel it on his arms, his legs as he hung in the sky along with the rest of his tribe, he could see the forest, their forest underneath them.
''My children have come home'' Yui said, as she passed the elder and looked at the rest of his brothers ''I wish I could speak to you more, but there isn't enough time. Those wars are taking place on all plains and should you be here, when it starts again here. Three gifts have been given to you my sons and daughters'' she said, as she casted them out
They emerged near the wall where he had fought the Human in black armor.
''Bull shit, we don't have time and if we don't connect those two sides, we lose that entire section'' someone screamed near them
''And what the hell do you want us to do, we lost the entire team. This isn't a game, we don't come back, more and more of us are breaking down from all the fighting we need help.'' someone else answered
He felt himself moove, his brothers followed him, some picking up rather materials, while others cracked their knuckles ready for a fight.
''What you need are better weapons'' he announced
In what may have seemed like a tenth of a second, several knights and soldiers carrying their versions of guns were aimed at him.
''Put them down! He's one of us!'' someone screamed ''Look at his arms'' that person continued, this caused each one of his would be attackers to withdraw the moment they saw the two crosses hanging from his arms.
''Fuck it, we don't have time'' a knight in heavy armor, with a giant meat cleaver said. Unbeknownst to him this man would later become the Patron of the Iron Legs
''We have better weapons the Leprechauns are helping us create magic, solid magic anyways, but that takes time. The problem is south section of the wall, that entire section is covered in marvel pythons'' he said, as he pointed at a map in front of him, causing an image of the odd buildings to show themselves in front of them
''Why not take them to our Mistress' he asked
''Doesn't work that way, animals don't seem to care. No that's not right, the more level headed ones they kneel down and obey, but demons and creatures that just like to kill. They strike even more ferociously'' said a soldier walking up to them
He somehow knew that the difference between a Knight and a soldier, was a simple one. Knights wear armor while soldiers were a combination of clothing and strengthened patch work [Bullet proof vest and helmets]
''So those creatures, are demon beast'' he asked
''Yeah, but that's not the issue. They have the added effect to nullify any long range attacks, their speed makes it nearly impossible for us to land a hit and the sheer size of them. Is a building all on its own'' the soldier said, as he explained everything
This caused the rest of his tribe except for the little ones to come out and as the image of the snake appeared before him
''We want into the city, whenever we want'' said the elder. This caused everyone to look at him confused ''In exchange for our help, we want to come in and out as we please'' he repeated
''Deal, but we have to wait until our new weapons are ready.'' said a man dressed in a white shirt and black pants ''Old man, what do you orcs use the most'' the man asked
''The hammer'' the elder answer
''Repeat after me, I am the blunt of the hammer'' the man dressed in white said, the elder did so and with this you and your brothers are one of us. S here's the rest of it. I am the edge of the sword,'' said the man the knight drew his sword, ''The tip of the spear'' the man said as a soldier picked up a spear ''Lift up your hammer the blunt of the hammer'' the elder picked up his hammer instinctively, even tho it was nothing more than some discarded material he had just picked up
Present ][][][]]]][]
The temperature dropped nearly instantly, they had reached the edge of the Lions territory, not just the border but the border between the barrier that the Cardinals had set up. Yet the feeling of un eez only strengthened it self.
The white mist his breath made as he exhaled only reflected just how drastic the temperature had changed. The wrist, knee, chest and shoulder guards he wore felt like more and more like ice the longer he stayed in this weather.
The broken remnants of a building greeted them, as the white field covered in snow became their surrounding, it would take another hour, for them to reach their destination.
''Why did this act feel so similar to the one so long ago'', he thought to himself, ''Maybe because it mirrored that one so well, they were in an unknown land, about to fight an enemy so far above them, that they couldn't possibly know just how much, they were out matched.
Past
They immediately began to walk away from that location, after agreeing to the terms.
''Tell me Human, you said that Leprechauns were helping you create magic and better weapons. Magic does not exist, spiritualism does'' the Elder, said to the Human wearing the white shirt
''You see that big tower over there, that's called the Word Tree. Fairies live there, believe me magic is real. There's a giant barrier separating them from us. At the bottom, there's a group of minors similar to the dwarfs, yeah that's them'' the Human answered
''Then if there's a barrier how do you communicate? We have run into them before and they won't allow anything to pass'' the Elder asked, the Human
'Your right, words and any material is kept away from them. So we communicate thru letters. The Illusive Man is working on a way for us to communicate, at least by voice but it will take a while. Do you have any form of written language, I'm only asking so I can explain the next part easier.'' the Human said, to his Elder
''We use images to show the events that happened. For example, the image of the rising sun, followed by an image of a battle, would tell us that a battle was fought there at dawn.'' the Elder answered, the Human
''Thank you. Imagine there are two lines, ones straight and the other has a spike in the middle. One says run and the other attack, knowing what they mean isn't enough so someone that knows what they mean and can voice them, would use them to grant a person added speed and attack power.
Here's the thing none of us has magic, so we need to know, how we can get the same effects, luckily for us we already have something to help us'' the human said as he handed the elder the spear he held in his hand
The Elder looked at the spear and his eyes began to widen ''There are spiritual engravings carved into this weapon, you can wield spirits'' the Elder said, in an all too obvious amusement
''Not exactly, I didn't forge that weapon someone else did, but if we add to that the effects of some of these Leprechaun spells we might just have a chance of ending these wars faster and get some form of peace'' the Human, finely finished
The Human said and from nowhere he took out several crystals and one or two bottles filled with a strange green and yellow liquid ''We're separating here, go home say good to your families and get whatever weapons you need. Those Things I just gave you, they're all healing items, there no guarantee we're going to be able to help each other, when we face of that thing'' the Human said as he turned and walked away from the Elder, all around him the rest of the Humans were either handing his brothers, similar cristal or potions or they were walking away
''We'll meet up here tomorrow, get some rest'' the Human said as he headed back to where the meeting had been held while the rest went in a separate direction
][][][][][
Present
''Okay well set up camp here, set up the tents. Anyone that wants time with the pleasure girls, do it after the tents are up, anyone who wants to camp somewhere else, suck it up!'' someone announced
He could feel it, under his feet, there was a power no the remnants of a power, an extremely familiar power, Back had fought here. There was no mistaking it, he had fought plenty of times along side that man, brothers did that.
Yeah brothers did that.
There's a reason why the Players hold San Andreas, no Orc will ever deny that fact. They had provided weapons healing potions, food and even had sent one of their forgeries to them, so they could learn from each other.
It was completely alien to them, but back then the Players were desperate and any allie they made was precious to the. His people were arrogant, that day changed that, no Orc will ever deny that.
One day he will earn Blacks forgiveness.
The light scent of sweat caught his attention, no the texture of lingering smell was what caught him. It was a woman, a female Human, her sweat was mixed with gunpowder and a separate smell Black. He had mated, but that smell it lingered no this was the smell of an infant being forged, females let loose that smell, tho he doubted the Humans knew it.
He followed the scent and soon found a soldier conversing with one of the knights. As he neared them their smiling faces became serious and immediately silenced the moment he stood in front of them
''I am chief of the the tribe your mate belongs to'' he announced in his friendliest way possible. He didn't bother naming his tribe, not because he was ashamed of it, but because if he had, they would have been honor bound into battle
She hesitated ''You're mistaken, I have no mate'' she answered
''Your sent it carries my brothers smell, mixed in with the scent of a forming fetus. You carry Blacks child within you. I see my brother has chosen a warrior female and such a good looking one. Won't you come and meet the rest of the tribe'' he said, in is most joy filled voice. In all honesty, for a Player to have children with a native was nothing new, but for a member of Domino. That was a rarity.
The rest of her team surrounded her, their faces held a confused expression. Nonetheless they followed him, ''We became brothers back in the day, he was the last of his tribe'' he let those words lingerie
''We will offer the child all of the knowledge of our tribe, of course your brothers as well as yourself are going to get the same treatment'' he said, he could barely contain his smile now. When Black woke up he would see his infant and his mate , well fed and strong, That would make him happy right, of course it would why wouldn't it.
After all Black had done the same for him.
][][]
That day they easily hunted and ate their fill, several small wolves were their meal, however the Elder was strangely quiet. That was their first warning, he had gone to speak to him yet the Elder didn't say a single word.
There is saying among'st the Orc leaders, that when an Orc becomes an Elder they gain the ability to see the future, however there are times when the visions are so horrifying that some Elders are scarred for life.
That night felt uneasy, the forest was unusually silent. For a place in constant warfare, it was completely silent. Death was in the air, no from the upcoming battle but from those past and ongoing ones, several decisive battles had occurred and the scent of blood saturated the air.
It was coming, Yui had entrusted with them to fight alongside their cousins the Players. His mate hugged him from behind and guided his hand to her an instant, he stood in a field bath in blood, his brothers stood besides him, but he felt as a failure.
He believed that he saw his the fate of his child, how wrong had he been.
His woman saw his worried expression, but he dismissed her worries and simply told her that he was worried about the battle ahead.
The following day the Humans met them in the same spot they had separated, however their weapons had changed each one now had an engrave-ment vastly different from those already placed upon them.
To any other this fact would have been lost, however any Orc could see the single different marking with incredible eez.
They marched thru the city, lights of all forms displaying different symbols, shapes and colors light their path despite it being day.
However to describe the battlefield would be to describe a hot desert, next to a frozen field, it was completely wrong.
The city was a created by buildings that towered all around them, however this was wrong. The stone buildings were melted and turned into a strange paste, the ground was sand it self and the air was a form of liquid.
No words will ever describe what he and his brothers felt that day. The events will always be described but the feeling will never be said correctly.
They were forced to watch.
As they walked toward the battle field Black introduced him to the rest of the Humans, his dark armor contradicted one Humans white armor, he later found out that that knight was Blacks nephew and his last living family.
There are no words for that day.
He and his brothers were ready for battle, only for the liquid air to solidify and force them into a stone like bodies. They were completely in mobile, their words never had a way for them to exist their mouths and warn the Humans.
Seven serpents made of stone rose from the sand, in a form so silent that even his ears could not hear them. He can still hear the Humans scream for help, arrows made of fire hit those strange creatures, only for it to be put out the moment it bnerd them.
The bullets fired stopped the moments they neared them, the swords and the ax'se the Humans used stopped near them.
Forty three Humans entered the battlefield and only one came back.
He can still remember the serpents all as if they were one turn to look at him and his brothers and smile. Those black eyes reflecting them and their fang covered moths, smiling at them.
Only Black and his Nephew were left, however a single object had been drawn, black screamed at his nephew to be careful as he called it a thermonuclear bomb.
The weapon was tossed into the air, however it was ignored by the serpents, at least until the boys white armor caught it in mid air and all of the serpents attacked him, tearing him apart. The moment the weapon exploded it killed them all, it's strange energy mixed with the liquid air, causing it to dissolve.
Black however simply stared, he stayed in that place for five days, just staring at his Nephews last spot where he hanged in the air.
That battle was forgotten by him, however it was always remembered. A memory for his tribe, no matter what you do or how strong you are, there are times you can't help at all.
Present
][][]][]
Pove change
She knew something was wrong the moment they teleported in, she had seen Players before after all Black and Kirito called themselves that, but these these were different. A person can tell the difference between a soldier and a civilian, just by looking at their eyes, Kirito had that look, the look of being put thru hell. However soldiers can tell the difference between a regular soldier and a ranger.
There's something different about them, it might be the fact that they seem built in an entirely different way, or the fact that they somehow some way smell of death in battlefield, but they were different.
However these these were different and ot in the good way.
In her military career, back when she could call it a military career, before the world ended and was replaced with whatever the hell this was. She had seen reinforcements as well as deployments of different kinds of platoons.
This however this was an invasion force, someone high up, got their heads out of their ases and sent in the heavy hitters.
Even as they marched passed her and her team, they just kept looking forward, they had somewhere to be, any movement was caught by the animals with them and immediately dealt with, one of her squad had found out the hard way, when a slight glare caught a dog's attention.
A small beam of light was enough , to have an entire pack of dogs on him and several lizard on them the moment they tried to help. How the hell those things grew so fast she would never know.
They were dragged near the marching soldiers and immediately realis'ed, thanks to the fact that they all carried an emblem of San Andreas on them.
Still their positions had been compromised and several of their soldiers had separated in order to scout out the area, from the reports she was receiving, they were carving monsters by the dozens.
Even as she tried to to find out what was going on interruptions kept happening, a soldier would walk past her and congratulate her, another would offer her food or a warm drink. This strange act continued until the group stopped and set up camp near the entrance of a cave, about ten to twelve days away from a small town.
Yet again she tried to get some information only to be interrupted again, this time by a giant ball of muscle and teeth. He was built like a tank, had long black hair, two giant tusks that came out of his mouth, forcing it to stay somewhat open. While on his shoulder, he had a steel plate that acted like a guard, that connected to his wrist that had a type of guard for his groin, that was placed above a type of brown leather.
His arms had the same leather covering his wrist, however a white cross hanged from his right hand, while from his left a black cross hanged from it, both his knees and wrist had a small metal plate with a strange symbol marked on them.
Oddly enough the strange Orc was incredibly friendly and half way thru his their conversation she had stopped listening, that is up til the point where it said she was pregnant.
First of all sure she and Black had slept together but that was only what five times and they ad been so far apart that she would have known, second she couldn't get pregnant, she was sterile. But the creature was spoke as if was absolutely certain.
She was about to shut the big idiot up and put him in his place, when a soldier announced they finally had the video footage. Those that wanted to see should connect now.
There are moments in life when one knows they are in a dangerous spot and then there are moments when one doesn't reali'se it until it's too late. Every soldier, moved their hands in mid air and made a screen appear in front of them.. It was in that moment that here and her team knew that their suspicions were right, they were completely surrounded by Players.
''Do you want to see, but are you certain it won't affect the little one'' the Orc asked, she just shook her head uncertain of how to act, all around her her team was being shown the footage
Black
][][][
The feeling of vertigo took over and in an instant she found herself in a dark hall, at the edge of the far right, of her sight she could see green lines that somehow seemed full, one read life, he other stated mental health, while the third had a type of timer that kept track of both his steps and how long he had traveled, along with the distance. The timer however just kept going, as the user had yet to reach his destination.
This person was traking his health and everything from the distance, to how many steps he made, this alone told her a lot about this person. This person was cassius, extremely so, this alone meant that he wasn't taking any chances.
She could feel the weight of the armor on her, no on him with every step he took. How the cool wind entered the small cracks in the armor specifically put in it, to let the user have some form of ventilation. It would let clean air in, while any chemical and poisonous materials and insects would remain outside.
For an instant she wondered how she knew that, but decided to dismiss it for the moment. An icon appeared in the far left, reading six days, four hours on one minute. ''Okay, that settles the time scale of whatever this person's missions was'' she thought to herself
A small edge served as his resting spot, in near absolute darkness he had his meal, heated up with a small electric portable heater, he warmed up a small cup of noodles, she used the term rather loosely as the thing could easily feed two people. However it was only in a thick near liquid state.
The tunnel began to shake, instantly causing a map to appear in front of him, the tunnel had been changing every thirty minutes, forcing him to stay on his toes. However his near pitch black surroundings were turned into a bright garden, growing around a long since dead city.
Its buildings resembled those of her home city, however the stench of death saturated the air itself. His helmet kept the air out keeping him safe, however his food wasn't so lucky, massive mountains move about the land, however the moment they turned to look at him, they treated him as nothing more than a nuisance and simply ignored him.
Content with what he saw however, he simply looked at his hand and summoned a teleportation crystal. The story would have ended had his breathing not stopped for a second, she could feel his breath caught inside his chest, she wanted to scream, her very blood itched and her eyes her eyes they felt wrong.
The critical in his hand immediately vanished as he drew his sword, her heart nearly stopped. A simple red outline to determine his eyes, placed in a black armor that seemed to out of place in the green , brightly light broken city.
It was Captain Black, she was seeing Blacks memories and experiencing them first hand. But something was wrong, he didn't feel invincible, no he felt scared, burnable, the closest thing in words would be a mouse caught by an eagle in mid air.
Stile he simply walked forward, completely unaware of his current location however he placed something on the ground marking it, allowing him to use it as a footnote to jump in case he needed to use it to jump from that location, to the other one he had been in just earlier.
It was about fifteen minutes when he found the origin of the horrible smell that plagued this area, it was a massive corps of a massive Hippopotamus, rotting away, in front of it its attacker dead bloated at the verge of bursting, with a giant bite on the edge of its face.
The hippo hadn't died without a fight.
The feeling in the air only intensified, that told him he was getting closer, yet again he placed something into the ground and his map grew, connecting to his previous location and somehow connecting to his previous locations.
His breathing was getting harder, as he neared the feeling but he powered through it, the information at the end was absolutely invaluable. The location alone was an incredible discovery, however the sounds of chains clicking and ringing echoed all around him.
It was time to turn around and get help, unfortunately that was no longer an option. As he saw a massive dog like creature, staring back at him. However it was completely un threatening, it was more like a guard dog, that failed to be a guard dog.
As an infant could march up to it and come back cover in saliva, as the dog liked it head to toe, instead of attacking it.
Any normal man and woman would have turned around and walked away, however he wasn't normal and it is his duty to look into things like this.
Not even two steps into the area, when whimpering sounds caught his ears. The massive dog, simply ignored him and went about its day, letting him pass.
There was an object he held in his inventory, something called presence concealment cristal, she caught herself wondering just how she knew that considering he hadn't said a word this entire time.
She immediately separated herself from the Orc and vomited, she hadn't seen what it was, but the feeling alone was unbearable. All around her several people as well as her team did the same, however the Players, the Orcs and what looked like animal people just ignored them and kept watching.
As she wiped her mouth, she could see several animals walking around them keeping them safe, repetitively scouting the surrounding areas.
The ground itself was now covered in worms, worms that separated themselves allowing her to walk. They were being watched, the players weren't taking any chances.
''Are you okay'' the Orc asked
''Yeah but what's going on?'' she answered
''We are watching your mates final moments, I'm sorry but as his brother it's my duty to inform you that Black is at the verge of going home'' the Orc said ''He always used that term, that when one dies he goes home, as his mother father, brothers and sisters have already gone'' he continued before stopping
She didn't say anything after all she didn't really know the guy, he was just someone passing by, yet for some reason he hands instinctively cover her stomach.
''If you don't want to see there's no reason for you to see'' the Orc said, his voice nw showing concern for her
''Lets finish this'' she answer
A combination of a gelatinous blob, mixed in with an octopus head, rotting rat hand and some sort of figured woman all wrapped into one was what greeted her. In front of the creature was a large wooden table, that held the remnants of a man, yet she only assumed it was a man for there was barely anything left of him. His intestines were all over the place and his blood dripped from the table itself.
Behind the creature was a cage about the size of an apartment building, if it was placed on its side, inside it however were women and children all whimpering. Each time the creature turned the screamed and pushed themselves back, trying to get sOme form of safety.
The walls however, had weapons and body parts hanging from hooks.
This was all odd because the creature, the people and the objects themselves were the normal height of a person. So either the ,massive dog was like, the creatures he had seen earlier and was native to this place, that only saw him as a nuisance and therefore no real threat.
Or this creature in front of him was only one of what he assumed several large creatures live there. With any luck however they two would see him as nothing more than nuisance.
Spirit weapon, armors, symbols, potions and crystals. Native to the Flying Castle, this magic is known as the power of the Soul, long ago magic was known throughout the land.
However as time went on this mystical ability was lost, so the people found a way to preserve what they could.
Weapons and armors crafted from steel, ceramics and iron as well as any other material non biological material, have a symbol embedded in them. Tho the design itself is unknown by the blacksmiths, who craft these objects.
What is known however is that these markings create a connection between the users and the objects themselves. Taking mental commands, from the user, along with the user's own life force to empower the weapon and armor itself. However to avoid shortening the user's life force, these markings strip the life of any object or living being they are used in.
This means that anything killed by these weapons give one tenth of their life to the weapons and armors themselves, it is unknown however , why the entire life force does not enter the weapon.
The connection however does have another added bonus, if enough creatures or objects are destroyed. The user himself\herself are granted a portion of the life force of the objects or beings they kill [Leveling Up]
However weapons and armors crafted from animals and living objects, permanently retain a portion of their own life energy from before. Therefore making them stronger than any weapon crafted from non biological material. Dragon scale armor being an example.
Potions and crystals however are created by mixing animal and plant life, however how these are made is only known to the Cardinals.