We stood just on the edge of the dome like structure, not completely understanding why it was there or what properties it may hold. It had already trapped two players and a field boss inside, presumably in an anti-crystal field and it was outright blocking us from seeing what was going on inside its protection. However the dome failed to prevent sound moving through it which meant that we could hear the three combatants shouting, roaring and clashing with great ferocity and speed, yet the lighter attacks which seemed to be from sword thrusts were weak and only seemed to enrage the beast which shook the ground with the power of its attacks.
Both me and Sky exchanged worried looks, but we both tightly grasped our swords with both hands and looked back at the dome wall which seemed to be made of some hazy glass which refused to reflect any light. With a quick look behind me to see a wall of skeletons, waving their rusted and notched weapons at us, I decided that there was likely to be no other way into the dome and that staying outside to figure any other way would take forever, prolonged by the onslaught of the angry skeletons and the pressure to get in before our friends died. So with my sword held firmly to my sword I ran head first at the dome hoping for the best.
As my body connected with the dome wall a tingling sensation ran down my body and the density of the wall slowed my body down, but I was able to run through it just as if it were a wall of suspended liquid. From the side of my vision I saw that Sky had similarly taken the action of running headlong at the dome and was entering through the substance at the same time as I was.
On the inside of the dome the ground had been torn apart, with very little flat or untouched areas remaining, the dome wall created a complete solid barrier which replaced the outside world with a dark purple haze. In the centre of the dome stood a giant skeleton, at least two times my own height, wielding a rusted and chipped iron battle axe which it swung without care and with tremendous power that almost caused shock waves in the air. The skeletal giant wore a horned helmet, a tattered cape hanging from around its neck and its eyes were glowing bright red with a trail of mist following in their wake. Above its head the name "Askar The Risen" along with a red crystal signified that it was a unique monster and the 4 health bars, 2 of them still filled, suggested that it was indeed some sort of boss.
Around the boss monster I could see two figures deftly darting in and around the boss' many and powerful strikes, keeping to the outskirts of the dome save for the occasional rush forward to attack the boss with a swift stab or light cut. These strikes however dealt very little damage individually due to them not being linked to any particular sword skill and coming from a light weapon such as a rapier. The two figures were in light leather gear with dark cloaks trailing around them in their continuous movement. Both of the fighters were into low orange health and neither of them seemed to be regenerating any significant amount of health, by this point they must have also been physically exhausted and starting to get slower in their movements.
Seeing the situation both me and Sky took off from the solid dome wall and charged straight at Askar the risen, me going to its left while Sky moving over to its right hand side. As we reached the skeleton we both unleashed our building attacks upon it from both sides. For me I chained a number of heavy cuts through the brittle bones and finally jumping up and stabbing my sword directly through the side of its chest, puncturing the area where a heart would normally lie. On the other hand Sky stabbed down at its kneecap, splintering the bone and practically separating the lower part of the leg from the rest of the body. This combined attack managed to take out a good chunk of its health and just managed to inch its health bars over into orange.
In response to the surprise attack the monster let out a resounding, yet guttural, roar which made the ground tremble slightly and it swung itself around along with its axe aimed to kill both of us in one sweep. Seeing this attack coming I let go of my sword, which was still stuck in one of the bones within its hollow chest, an flattened my entire body to the uneven ground. On the other side of the skeleton Sky raised her sword from the shattered bone and held it up in a blocking position whilst digging her stance into the ground, preparing for a hard hit.
On the ground the axe head soared over me, even though it missed me I could still somehow feel the blade's rapid movement through the air. However with no way do dodge the strike in time the axe smashed hard against Sky's sword, knocking it out of her hands and over to the other side of the dome and sending her flying into the dome wall with a loud thump and clank of metal. The skeleton took a few moments to slow its swing down so that the momentum didn't carry itself forward into the dome wall, it then planted the head of the axe in the ground, making it stand upright without support, and leant down to force its leg to reattach to the rest of its body.
Seeing that the skeleton had disarmed itself and was distracted both Andrew and Aurora burst forward from where they had been pushed back to and assaulted the skeleton with a number of chained sword skills which blazed trails through the air and left large red gashes and scars across the brittle and yellowed bones of the boss. At this point I also pushed myself up from the ground and jumped up for my sword, which I ripped out with my strong right arm, and proceeded towards the unattended axe.
Behind me I could hear the skeleton scream in rage and the force of its heavy fists trying to swat the two agile rapier users out of the air was very clear to me, my time was running short if I was going to do anything with the axe. I quickly sheathed my sword and grabbed hold of the huge haft of the battle axe and pulled hard against it, trying to pick it up, or at least move it in some way from the reach of Askar. However even with my extremely high strength stat I couldn't move the axe at all from the ground which the boss had planted it in.
"Snap the haft!" I heard a demanding shout come from the side of the dome, I turned to see that it had come from Sky who was pushing herself to her feet with the help of her sword. Once standing she went to her pouch and pulled out a small red vial, she took the glass stopper out with her teeth and downed the whole thing before looking back to the boss and shouting, "Switch out! You two heal up or help Steven!" with that final order she raised her sword and charged again at the skeleton which had just over a bar of health remaining to it.
I turned back to the axe and realised that what Sky had said was the only thing that I could really do to the axe, yet it was such a damaging thing for the boss that I would be stupid not to attempt it. I drew my sword again, but looked at it with a hard stare knowing that this sword wouldn't be able to do the job fully. So I took a deep breath, turned around to see that the boss was occupied, a job which Sky was carrying out rather well, and started opening white menu panels towards my inventory where I replaced my current sword with another.
Shadow Beam dematerialised from my hand and another sword fell into my hand as a lump of light. Not waiting fully for Phantom Breaker to materialise fully I raised it above my head and waited impatiently for the strongest breaking sword skill I had available to me. I swung, with as much might as I could muster, diagonally downwards towards the centre of the old wooden haft, hoping for it to be enough to break it.
When my sword connected it met a little resistance but with the force of the skill behind the blade it managed to shatter the hilt into pieces with ease, sending the disconnected half towards the dome wall where it clattered to a stop. At that point I heard Sky scream alongside a large crash of metal as she flew past me, once again smashing hard against the solid dome wall, leaving her in red health. She fell to the floor seemingly unable to get back up from the hit she had just sustained and her sword laid out of her reach, but as us three hadn't dealt any major damage recently she retained the boss' aggro.
The boss stomped over to Sky and reached out for its axe, however as the haft had now been shortened its hand missed the remaining wood and it stopped in confusion to look at what was wrong with its weapon, almost as a human would do. Seeing that Sky was still down on the ground I bolted forward with my new sword, which still felt unfamiliar in my hands, and begun to unleash a barrage of hits upon its strong weapon arm and towards the centre of its chest, with all intention of dealing as much damage as I physically could. Both Andrew and Aurora, who were back to green health, joined me on this attack and the skeleton was soon lit up with a red glow that indicated the huge areas which damage had been dealt to its brittle body.
Our flurry of attacks continued and the skeleton could do nothing but try and hit us away with its large fists, however the speed at which the two rapier users were darting around him made it near on impossible to hit and any strikes that came my way were either blocked or parried with no real damage to myself. With the boss taken away from its main weapon, it was left practically defenceless and its health bar quickly went into red and with a few powerful and well aimed hits its health bar hit zero. With that the three of us backed off from the defeated boss and watched as its hollow and now dead body fell down to the ground and blow up in a shower of bright pixels which the wind carried away past the dome which began to disintegrate around us.