The Ancients World

The marker is getting closer and closer on the map. The Valley of Fallen Gods is coming into view as well. I've never been this far North on the continent. I don't think any player has. The snow and cold are almost as bad as the dungeon for Sally's legacy class. I don't have to worry about Sally. She might be immune to the cold now. "We are getting close to the valley! I'll bring us down, and we'll walk the rest of the way!" I dive at max speed, and I hear Sally squeal in both fear and surprise. I didn't really give her a chance to prepare. I land us and let her off me. She gets on her hands and knees and takes multiple deep breaths.

I leave my wings out since we are so far away from anything. A never-ending world will make things like this possible. The dwarfs continent has barely been explored after all. "I would have like a second to prepare at least..." She gives a weak response to my fast dive. "How far are we going to have to walk? This place seems dangerous to me. Who knows what we'll find all the way up here." She has a point. I might not be strong enough for monsters that'll show up. The place we are at and heading to has no information. We are going into this situation dark, and I don't like putting Sally at risk like this. This is a good chance for her to level up, though.

I still don't know the specifics of how NPC's level up. All I can say is it's different from how players do. "The walk should be around 20 minutes before we reach the marker. I don't know what will happen once er reach the marker, so please still close to me. This cold and foggy environment gives me the hibby gibbies. If things do get too difficult, I'll summon Fenrir and get his help. He'll be able to make this part of the quest easy." Sally nods her head and stands up, ready to walk. We begin to walk to the marker, and the fog we could see over is making it difficult since we are now in it. We are walking because I don't want to fly into an invisible barrier at 430mph.

I look around the area as best as possible, but there are no discernable features in this fog. "Why do I feel like we are being watched... This place must be ancient..." Sally's words ring in my ears. This place probably predates the great war thousands of years ago. I feel the sensation of being watched as well. The vibe this place gives off doesn't sit well with me. We walk for 20 minutes and eventually come to a giant gate. It must be magically enchanted to always come across the gate. The odds of that actually happening are low. I bring my hand up to the gate, but the heavy metal bars don't move. I get a notification, and I feel a shiver go up my spine as I read.

[The Valley of Fallen Gods Entrance]

[Description: The entrance to The Valley of Fallen Gods. This area is a relic of an old-time on Gaia, long before the great war. Long before the fall of Samael and long before the decline of warriors. This place has not seen a living creature in several millennia. While the battle is long over, and the bones of warriors are long returned to earth, there is great power here.]

[You must answer a question to enter this place.]

[???: You have finally arrived. The trials inside will bring you to your knees and yours alone. You can have outside help, but any help below a divine level will certainly die. I hope you are ready for this, because if you die here. You won't be coming back.]

An area that has permadeath... I look at Sally, knowing what this implies. I can't take her in with me. "Show me the question!" Before I cross that bridge, I should open the gate first. This is where the lore tablet comes into play. I'm glad I've saved it till this point. I feel a massive amount of my mana get sucked from my body. I fall to my knees, and I take deep breaths trying to catch it. I feel incredibly weak, like the power in my body has been reduced. Sally kneels beside me and helps me up. I check my stats to see what's happened. What I see... It sinks the seriousness of this situation in that I was not prepared for this.

[Slayer (Zern) Lvl.82]

[Exp: 1/100%]

[Title: The Son of Arch-Angel Michael (Hidden),+3 more]

[Stats]

[Strength - 2095][Limited to 500][Endurance - 2045][Limited to 500][Dexterity - 2125][Limited to 500][Speed - 2240][limited to 500][Focus - 14,660][limited to 1000]

[Health: 16,560/16,560][Limited to 4,000][Mana: 146600/146600][Limited to 10,000]

[Stat Points: 10][Armor rating: 500]

[Inventory]

[Passive Perks]

[Inheritor of the Sword] [Son of Heaven] [Slayer of Evil] [Holy Willow Trees Savior] [Finder of Legends] [The Divine who has Legend] [Destined for Greatness] [Dungeon Diver] [An Overachiever]

[Active Skills]

[Heavens light Lvl.9 325/900] [Protected by Heaven Lvl.9 225/900] [Slash Lvl.22 4600/13000] [Parry Lvl.3 80/300] [Double Strike N/A] [Kingslayer N/A] [Raging Machine N/A] [Winged Glory] [Angelic Flight]

My stats have been limited to 500 and my mana to 1000. I've never heard of this happening before. "Are you alright? Maybe we shouldn't do this..." Sally sounds very concerned. She'll be mad soon when I tell her she can't come in with me. I lift my hand, and it's shaking like crazy with all my strength and attacking power being sucked out. "I'm getting you out of here." I shake my head no, and she cusses under her breath a little. I look at the other notification and see the question it has asked.

[Question for entry: This valley was created for one purpose. That was to decide who the strongest mortal was. Nobody made it out alive. Who created this valley?]

I couldn't answer this question with what I know. I take the lore tablet out of my inventory, and it gives me a prompt.

[What is it you wish to know?]

I begin thinking of a response, and an empty text area fills with my question. The lore tablet takes a second, but it gives me an answer.

[The First Divinity Thief. A man who stole the principle of time and space from The Old Gods. His name is Neomon the Unwise. His presence eventually faded from history and is forgotten.]

What in the fuck are The Old Gods... What is a Divinity Theif... This information is completely new to me. I bet even the people of Gaia don't know of anything like The Old Gods. I turn my head back to the gate and take a breath. "Neomon the Unwise created The Valley of Fallen gods." The entire area shakes, and the heavy doors slowly creak open. "I'm sorry for what I'm about to do, Sally..." She looks at me weirdly. Before she can say anything, I knock her out with a chop to the back of her neck. I quickly set up a tent and place her in it. I close the tent entrance, and as I do, I see Sally's sleeping face. I can't risk her life in this place.

I walk back to the gate and enter it. After a few steps in, the gates behind me slam shut, and it rocks my entire body. The fog immediately clears, and I see a huge battlefield that goes on for miles. There are mountains and hills in view too. I start to walk forward, and I'm grateful that I had that lore tablet. Too bad it's gone now. I flex my wings and launch off the ground. I should look around for anything out of place. Unknown to Cera, there is a worldwide announcement happening. The location he's at doesn't allow it to come through. Players read the strange announcement as it comes through.

[World-wide announcement: The Son of Arch-Angel Michael is undergoing an incredible task! If he completes the task. All players will be returned to their original positions before The Collision happened! Everyone cheer on The Son of Arch-Angel Micahel! He is going to need it!]

The state inside The Valley of Fallen Gods is changing after that announcement. Cera is flying around unknown to it. Good thing I have my wings. Without them, it would make things incredibly hard. As I'm flying over an open field, I see a stone pedestal. I dive down and land in front of it. I use inspect on it to see what it is.

[Container for The Divine Mana Aura of Overworld]

[Description: A divine mana aura that is only attainable for deities of Overworld or their descendants.]

[Qualifications: You meet qualifications]

I reach out my hand and touch it, but as soon as I do it feels like the world is shaking. I land on my ass and as it stops I hear footsteps approaching me from behind. I look as I see a player model I thought I'd never see. It's Blue Chaos, at least it's his player model.