With a furious roar, the Five-Clawed Divine Dragon unleashed its rage upon the Sky Veil of Dark Thunder that had engulfed the heavens. A swift, powerful sweep of its tail conjured five massive tornadoes, tearing a path through the crackling dark energy as it surged after the retreating Double-Headed Raven King.
"Awooo..."
The Divine Dragon was moments from catching its quarry, but it had reached the very edge of the domain it was sworn to protect. As the guardian of Dragon’s Peak Citadel, it could not abandon its post for a personal vendetta. It let out a long, frustrated hiss. The nerve of that little pest, stirring up trouble in its territory. It would let the creature go this time, but if it ever dared to return, it would be utterly annihilated.
Having driven off the Dark Arch-Sorcerer, the Five-Clawed Divine Dragon soared gracefully through the air for a moment before returning to its perch atop the Altar Spire. A brilliant golden light flashed, and the magnificent beast vanished within it, restoring tranquility to Dragon’s Peak Citadel.
Below, the tens of millions of players in the city stared at the sky, utterly dumbfounded. The sprawling metropolis fell into a hush so profound that the sound of a pin dropping would have echoed through the streets.
"Holy crap... a Divine Beast!"
"No way. I need that dragon. I don’t care how."
It took a full minute for the silence to shatter, replaced by a cacophony of frenzied shouts. A mob of players, having lost all reason, began a mad dash toward the Altar Spire.
"Don’t just stand there! The sorcerers dropped loot! Go!"
That single, sharp cry brought the dazed players back to their senses, reminding them of what was actually attainable. Unbeknownst to them, however, the major guilds already positioned on the city walls had leaped down and were sprinting toward the massive crater left by the Double-Headed Raven King.
Inside that crater lay the spoils from the fifty Dark Sorcerers the Divine Dragon had vaporized; over a hundred pieces of masterwork gear. Snagging even one of them meant a fortune.
"Stone, move your ass!" SoulSync urged, his voice tight with urgency as they galloped forward. The mile-long distance was closing fast, but with so many players vying for a limited prize pool, every second was critical. A moment’s delay could mean leaving empty-handed.
This was a textbook demonstration of the shortest distance between two points. Although several large guilds had jumped from the walls simultaneously, the three at the center; Inferno, Violet Thunder, and Black Dragon, had a clear head start.
Marcus was frustrated. Supremely frustrated.
If only he were alone. With his exceptional Agility, boosted by skills and gear, he was confident no one in Dominion could outrun him. SoulSync’s mount was a fine steed with a +5 speed bonus, but Marcus knew that if he went all out, he could be at least twice as fast. He held back, not wanting to reveal his unnatural abilities to his companion, but the thought of being the first to reach that epic loot was a powerful temptation.
"Hey, Black Dragon’s locking it down!"
"What the hell, Inferno! We’re on the same side!"
"Screw you, Violet Thunder! Get out of my way!"
Cries of agony and rage erupted as the three leading guilds peeled off a portion of their members to form a perimeter, brutally clearing out the competition. Chaos descended. Old scores were settled, new rivalries were born, and those who just wanted a fight got their wish. Even those who didn’t were dragged into the fray. The brutal, exhilarating combat was a spectacle to behold.
Fortunately, Marcus and the other leaders of the Soulfire Guild were shielded by their members, allowing them to bypass the PvP carnage. As they galloped closer, they reached the edge of the crater blasted by the Raven King.
The massive pit was littered with the spoils of their victory: over a hundred pieces of masterwork gear. Golden equipment made up the bulk of it, interspersed with the crimson glow of Red Artifacts and the dark sheen of Mythic Artifacts. The dazzling light was enough to drive anyone mad with greed.
But something was wrong. A black, smoky miasma shrouded the treasure, crackling with an ominous, sizzling sound. Wasn’t that the Corpse Explosion, Dark Sky Veil the Raven King had used earlier?
Marcus activated his Insight skill.
Corpse Explosion, Dark Thunder Veil: A new type of magic formed by combining Corpse Explosion, Dark Sky Veil and Dark Sky Thunder. Extremely powerful.
Corpse Explosion, Dark Sky Veil is one of the ten secret arts of the Demon Clan. It detonates corpses to inflict massive damage. The resulting black smog is highly toxic, corroding flesh and causing continuous health loss. When infused with Dark Sky Thunder, any contact with a person or object will trigger a violent explosion. The weak should not enter.
The bulk of the spell had been used to stall the Five-Clawed Divine Dragon, but some of the volatile magic had clung to the exploding Dark Sorcerers’ remains, settling over the crater and blanketing the loot within.
"SoulSync, hold up! That smoke looks nasty," Marcus warned, noticing that no one else seemed to have realized the danger.
"What is it?" SoulSync asked, glancing back in confusion, though he instinctively slowed his pace.
"Aargh!"
"Aaargh!"
Sudden screams pierced the air. Several agile Archers and Assassins from the Inferno Clan, having reached the crater first, had charged directly into the black smog.
They were instantly obliterated, their health bars dropping to zero in a flash.
"Everyone, hold the line! The smoke is toxic!" someone bellowed.
The major guilds quickly halted, cautiously eyeing the gear in the smog while keeping a wary eye on their rivals. For a moment, a tense standoff formed as players from every guild gathered at the crater’s edge, all waiting for an opportunity.
The brief pause allowed the swarming horde of players from behind to catch up, and soon the edge of the crater was a dense, writhering mass of people.
"Tanks, on me! Push through! Grab whatever you can!" a guild leader commanded.
Quickly, the guilds sent in their Knights; players with the highest defense and health, to brave the Dark Thunder Veil.
"Damn, my HP is melting!"
The Knights fared little better than the Archers and Assassins. They managed a few steps into the smog before their health plummeted, collapsing just short of the tantalizing loot.
"Now what?" The guilds were at a loss.
A pity, Marcus thought to himself. If only he hadn’t already used his Ring of Resurrection today. With his defense and health, combined with the ring’s three seconds of invincibility, he might have been able to dash in and snatch a piece or two.
"Hey, a hookshot!" someone yelled.
A clever Assassin flung a grappling hook toward the gear in the veil. If he could just snag one piece, he’d be rich.
"You son of a bitch! You think you can just take it?"
A warrior with bloodshot eyes, enraged that someone had found a potential solution, flew into a rage. If he couldn’t have the gear, no one could. He raised his greatsword and swung it at the Assassin.
BOOM! PING! PING!
"Agh!"
A series of violent explosions echoed from the veil. The grappling hook disintegrated into dust upon contact with the Dark Sky Thunder, and its owner was simultaneously cut down by the enraged warrior.
"You killed him! They’re dead! Get them!"
"Kill them all!"
"Bring it on!"
"Screw you, you hit me! Eat steel!"
"Who just backstabbed me?"
"I’m poisoned! Does anyone have a cleanse?"
The fragile peace shattered. The chaotic brawl reignited, escalating into a full-scale war. Faced with a trove of unattainable treasure, the players’ frustration boiled over, and they found their release in mindless violence. It was a glorious, brutal mess.
In the chaos, Marcus was pushed out of the Soulfire Guild’s formation, losing sight of SoulSync.
’Screw this,’ he thought, time to head back to the city. The Dark Thunder Veil looked like it would last for at least half an hour, and the loot would be despawned by the system in five minutes. There was no point in staying.
As he turned to leave, a warrior with crazed, bloodshot eyes appeared before him. Lost in a battle frenzy, the player didn’t care who Marcus was. He simply raised his massive axe and brought it crashing down.