Fallen Fate Online

When Zayne got home, he immediately climbed into his capsule and logged into Fallen Fate Online. Even though it was already nighttime, Zayne didn't want to sleep at all and he didn't feel tired, on the contrary, Zayne was enthusiastic about what awaited him.

Whoooooooooooooooosh.

Zayne appeared where he was, on the roof of Roland's house. He took a deep breath and looked toward Redfall Family Manor, which was unusually quiet today.

Tap.

Suddenly, something touched Zayne's shoulder, making him flinch. He turned around abruptly, and his eyes went wide as Elin stood in front of him with a disapproving look.

"Elin... What are you doing here...?" Zayne muttered in a confusion.

"Pffft, don't you think I noticed that every time after practice you left here? For your information, this isn't the most unremarkable place. Whatever, let's hurry up. A little more, and we'll be late, I don't want you to make Mr. Alden disappointed in us!" Elin said sternly as she jumped down.

'Hah, she's not at all like usual today, though it's the right attitude. I should do the same, after all the lives of ordinary people may depend on the success of our mission.' Zayne pondered, watching Elin's silhouette move away.

"Well, you've gotten faster, and so have I, right? Let's have a little race again!" Zayne said with an excited expression as he sprinted forward.

Crackle.

Under his feet, the tiles cracked as he fell onto the balcony and from there jumped onto the road without losing speed. He ran as fast as he could, so after a while, he caught up with Elin.

"What...? How did you catch up with me already?" Elin exclaimed in disbelief as her eyes went wide.

"Hahaha, try to be faster!" Zayne said vigorously, speeding up her step to the limit.

Elin could not accept it, so all she was concentrating on was getting to the manor gate faster. Gradually, she was ahead of Zayne, and there was nothing he could do about it, even though she was only a few steps ahead.

'Shit! I can see the finish line already, but my legs are getting numb! There's no way I can outrun her! Am I going to lose this time?' Zayne shook his head, and suddenly his gaze went cold as two scarlet wings appeared behind him.

Step.

With the next step, the wings came into motion, and Zayne turned into a red flash, in a heartbeat crossing the gate.

"Yes! I won!" Zayne exclaimed joyfully, not holding back his emotions at all.

"No! How! You cheated!" Elin stomped her foot angrily.

"Hehehe, did anyone forbid you from using skills?" Zayne smirked.

"Ghm!" Suddenly there was a powerful cough, "Both of you, get serious already. Everyone's waiting for you, and you're playing games at a time like this!" Roland said irritably, stepping out of the shadows.

Zayne and Elin tilted their heads guiltily.

"Alright, let's hurry up." Roland waved his hand, heading for the main hall.

Zayne and Elin followed him, and before entering Zayne said, "Roland, didn't you do the same thing before Chaos Hearth? Then you started that race." Zayne crossed his arms over his chest with a smirk.

Roland flinched, then scratched the back of his head, "That was different... Anyway, now is not the time for that."

Crackle.

Roland opened the doors, and they went inside. In the main hall, the whole team was already assembled. Lucia, Veronika, Alden, and Liza were present as well as a man unfamiliar to Zayne in a gray mantle.

"Great, they're here. Just in time." Alden smirked and looked at the man, "Mr. Loso, get started. Our squad is ready."

Loso nodded, adjusted his big hat, and looked at them, all of you, stand in front of me, I need to see every one of you.

Zayne, Elin, Roland, Rea, and Geir quickly did as he said, then Loso tapped the floor with his wooden staff.

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

Several waves of energy passed across the floor, then the magic circle glowed brightly.

'Hmm, he should have prepared the magic circle beforehand, it looks like this spell cost a lot of mana...' Zayne pondered, assessing the mage's actions.

Gradually blue particles emerged from the magic circle and rose upwards. They formed a cosmic cloud from which shining snowflakes began to fall, completely covering their bodies.

Step.

Loso dropped to one knee with an exhausted look and said, "It's done... Now no one will notice you for the next five hours, even if you stand in front of someone. That goes for us, too..."

"Damn... Loso, you did a great job!" Alden said with his eyes wide open looking at the empty magic circle.

"Hah, can't you see us?" Roland grinned as he came up behind Liza and guided his hand below her waist with a smirk.

Crackle.

Veronika grabbed his wrist tightly, so much so that it hurt Roland.

"We may not be able to see you because Loso is a true professional, but nothing prevents us from hearing you, just as I can distinctly smell you." Veronika frowned.

"Agh, I'm sorry, I was just too excited." Roland stepped back, scratching the back of his head, then he looked at the others, "Well, team, are you ready?"

"Yes!"

"Ah, right, I totally forgot about something." Alden said with a glance at Liza.

Liza nodded and brought out five baskets filled with food and water, one of which was different because it was for Geir.

"Oh, you've thought of everything, that's good. Zayne, can you put my basket in your ring?" Roland looked at Zayne.

"Sure." Zayne nodded.

"Mine too!" Elin said quickly.

"Ghm... I could use your help with this too..." Geir said uncertainly.

"Yeah... no problem..." Zayne nodded, afraid that four baskets would take up too much space.

He moved three baskets, and when he was about to do the same with Geir's one, Rea stopped him.

"You shouldn't. I have a ring, too." Rea said calmly, showing him her ring with the purple stone.

"Fine, thank you." Zayne smiled slightly.

Clap.

Alden clapped his palms together, "Now that we're all set, let's go! Roland will guide you, he knows the area very well. Once again, your job is to sneak into the main hall of the Orcs and interrupt their energy accumulation to prevent the emergence of Tier Two Chaos Hearth, is that clear?"

"Yes!" Everyone exclaimed at the same time.

[You have received a Unique Quest that cannot be refused!]

[Invasion in the Orcs Dungeon

You must fulfill a special quest from the heir to the most powerful family in Red Feather City!

Prevent Chaos Hearth from appearing, and perhaps Fate will look at you again as well as the whole town!

However, if you fail, it could turn into a disaster for thousands of people! Chaos will enter their lives, and it will only lead to tragedy!]

Zayne shuddered. He distinctly remembered what had happened to the Knights in the past Chaos Hearth and that Chaos Energy had almost killed him, he didn't want the same thing to happen to the inhabitants.

'Agh... Unlike me, they can't just be reborn in a few hours...' Zayne inwardly muttered following the group, outside the city.

The light of the moon illuminated their paths through the dense forest while various thoughts filled Zayne's mind.

'Maybe some of the players think of them as mere NPCs, but... I don't feel that at all. To me they're just as human...' Zayne pondered looking into the backs of his teammates.