MMORPG: Rebirth of the Shadow Mage

A few days passed and Ava and Eli were still unable to find any use for the silver key they had found in the box. They searched everywhere, including the platforms and stairs, and even had Ava climb the thin branches of a tree, but all she found were endless leaves.

During the day, they attended university and at night they played Fragmental. There wasn't much excitement during lectures, except for a few exchanges between Leonard and Theo.

Theo would threaten Leonard, but Leonard remained indifferent and kept his emotions hidden behind an expressionless face. This made him even more mysterious, causing many at school to speculate about him.

'I heard he worked as an assassin...'

'He was born without a part of the brain responsible for emotions...'

Ava heard many rumors, but all of them were from an unknown source and were unreliable. Ava also knew that Leonard was cold, but she knew how to read expressions and he was far from being emotionless. Every day she sat nearby him, from time to time she could see emotions swirling within his eyes. It was mostly annoyance, but it was still an emotion!

Ava wasn't sure if Leonard was the same Leo she knew from the game, but thinking about it made her head hurt. She remembered the conversation they held within the car when she asked Leonard to bring her home and how he wasn't eager to share any information about Fragmental.

'I shouldn't have pressured him...'

She regretted pressuring him to answer and even decided to apologize, but she never got the chance because he always left the university as soon as his lectures ended. He was a difficult man to get a hold of.

Ava heard that Leonard had even received secret confessions, but as far as she knew, he turned them all down.

His answer was usually the same:

"You shouldn't be involved with someone who's targeted by Theo."

If the girl insisted that she didn't care, Leonard had a second line that no girl had ever beaten yet:

"I'm not looking for a girlfriend."

Despite the obstacle created by Theo's dislike of Leonard, he was still quite popular, which only made Theo more angry. Yesterday, Theo even tried to start a fight, but Leonard was smart and avoided it by ignoring Theo's verbal abuse. He knew that Theo could threaten him all he wanted, but if he did something without a reason, he couldn't escape the law.

Ava couldn't help, but applaud the reign Leo had over his emotions and actions. It was even scary... She, who's usually referred to as an Ice Queen, could only bow her head to Leonard's ability to control his emotions so well.

'Maybe he's secretly the heir of a billionaire and has been trained to become an emotionless leader?'

During one of the lectures Ava caught herself thinking that Leonard wasn't actually a guy who got rich while playing the game.

It was a good hypothesis, but she couldn't be 100% certain that it was the truth.

"..Ello?"

Huh?

Ava shook her head and woke up from her reverie.

"Earth to Ava! Oh, you're finally awake!"

A huge female orc with a large scythe in her muscular arms was waving in front of her face, trying to get her attention.

"Sorry, I got lost in my thoughts..." Ava said, scratching her cheek as she pushed unnecessary thoughts to the back of her mind. They were currently inspecting the trunk of the massive tree, searching for any secret passage or a keyhole that might fit the silver key.

As Ava touched the rough surface of the wood, she frowned as splinters poked into her palm.

"Were you thinking about Leo?"

Eli suddenly asked, and Ava nodded her head without even thinking. It wasn't until a few seconds later that she fully understood the question and made a pout.

"Are you his fan girl? Why am I getting the same question for the third time today?"

Ava had already become immune to feeling embarrassed when talking about Leo. Eli talked about him way too often.

Ignoring Ava's accusations, Eli touched her cheeks while her eyes widened.

"You admitted it!"

She said with a grin, while the female elf grimaced and continued searching for a keyhole on the rough surface of the trunk.

Mumbling something about the ice melting Eli also joined her soon after and both went around the giant trunk, trying to find something amiss.

"I think I found something!"

Eli suddenly spoke and Ava quickly ran towards her. Looking at where she was pointing, the elf noticed a small hole partially hidden beneath the thick bark of the tree.

Eli used her Strength attribute wisely and peeled it off revealing a keyhole. Beneath it there was a painting of a silver key engraved into the wood.

Taking out the key they found at the highest platform Ava slowly extended her arm and put it in the keyhole.

Click...

A subtle sound of something clicking was heard and the world came to a halt.

[ ����� ����� ���������! ]

[ ����� ��� ���� �� ��� ���� �� ��������... ]

Swish...

Suddenly the giant leaves, which have been a vibrant green, begin to turn yellow, orange, or red. The tree starts to send less water and nutrients to its leaves, causing them to wither and eventually fall off.

The leaves gently drift down from the branches, twirling and dancing through the air as they make their way towards the ground below. Some of the leaves land softly on the ashes of the previous forest fire, while others land on patches of bare soil.

The fallen leaves started decomposing in seconds. Despite the destruction of the previous forest, life continues to thrive and regenerate. Various trees begin to sprout from the ashes slowly covering the ashes and hiding the destruction that happened beforehand.

Crack...

As the forest around the massive tree began to come back to life, a giant patch of bark was suddenly ripped off by an unknown force, revealing a passage inside the tree's trunk.

Exchanging glances, Ava and Eli entered the dark passage, and as soon as they did, their bodies turned into light particles.

***

Both friends were transported into a giant building on the island floating above the dark abyss.

It was a huge, ruined coliseum. Its towering marble walls and grand arches testament to a time of grandeur and spectacle. Looking around the coliseum, the first thing that Eli noticed was the thick smell of blood that hung in the air.

Since both of them stood in the middle of it, they could see the sand in the center of the arena stained with deep red color, as if something terrible had happened there. Strange echoes reverberate off the walls of the empty halls, adding to the eerie atmosphere. It was as if its past was etched into every crack and crevice.

Despite its ruined state, the structure still exuded a sense of power and majesty.

Looking around Ava pinched her nose bridge, it was painfully obvious that they'll have to fight. Inspecting the blood staining the sand, she noticed some strange engravings visible beneath the sand.

It was like a corner of a circle, a summoning circle she saw in many sci-fi movies.

Frowning, she uncovered more of the engraving using her foot, but the letters below were written in the language not known to her or Eli.

"So where's our opponent?"

Eli also came to a conclusion that they have to fight something.

Equipping her scythe, she absentmindedly looked around the area, searching for any clues on what to do next.

Splash...

Suddenly the sound of running water filled the huge, ruined coliseum. Ava and Eli were struck by the eerie mysteriousness of the scene. The water seems to be coming from everywhere and nowhere at once, a ghostly presence that invades the arena, soaking the sand and bringing its level up to their knees.

The sound of the water was intimidating and strangely enticing, similar to the violence and brutality that once filled this place. As the water continued to rise, Ava was filled with a sense of dread and while Eli was enjoying the cold water touching her feet, she still held the scythe tightly clenched within her grip.

They stood frozen in the middle of the arena, letting the water wash over them, not knowing where to run. The once-bloodstained sand was now a tranquil pool, and the weird echoes of the coliseum seem to fade away, because of the sound of the flowing water.

As the water continued to rise, Eli and Ava felt a sense of danger and started slowly retreating to the corner of the arena.

After a few minutes the water started subsiding once again reaching the height of their ankles.

Both sighed in relief and while Ava was warily glaring at the environment surrounding them Eli was trying to familiarize herself with moving in the water.

Tap... Splash... Tap... Splash...

Suddenly the sound of someone walking through the water echoed through the coliseum. The water started vibrating, while the waves were lifted every time the being took a step.

Eli and Ava knew something strong was entering the arena and that being had high affinity with water.

====

AN: Who could it be? 🤔