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Volume 5

Chapter 32: Day Turns Into Night

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The announcer was really an expert as he introduced everyone else in a splendid manner. The other 14 participants all had their own respective entrances with some being as simple as the Night Locking Victory though some were also grand but not as grand as the top 5 and 4… and the tied on top 3 rank in the city: Nine Dragons Gate and The Valkyries.

When it came with the 15th Guild to be introduced, the announcer still did his best to introduce them without seeming to lose energy and intensity as he did with the other firsts.

This team’s entrance was like the NDG, only a bit dimmer and muffled, and without the grand fireworks abruptly exploding in the air.

And when this team placed themselves on their side of the arena, it finally came into the last Team to enter this said arena match.

Before the announcer could speak though, the sol that shined brightly in the sky suddenly began to darken.

Everyone thought that there was a solar eclipse as it was a darkening of the surroundings that had the same intensity and suddenness. As they all look up, they felt alarmed when a shadow so gigantic had arrogantly blocked the sol’s light.

Even the energetic announcer lost his colors as he was unable to adlib this scene that wasn’t even in his teleprompter.

In fact, when he double checked his panel, he only saw that for the last group, his only job was to stay quiet.

The announcer looked down towards the control booth of the arena and spoke in his Comms Line.

“What the hell is happening?”

The floor director spread his arms wide and then shrugged, shaking his head sideways.

After that, the announcer looked at another direction again and there he made contact with the Director and his voice echoed.

“It’s the participant’s request. Apparently, they did not tell us what their entrance will be and so we were left with no choice but to follow. They said that we will sure to get many bets when they do this.”

Faced with this gamble, the announcer grit his teeth, looking at his panel before asking the Director.

“At least tell me what their name is.”

The Director seemed to have remembered that he’s unable to get the name of this team and so sent some underlings to go fetch someone who knew.

Seconds passed and the entire arena became silent.

The announcer became pale as his image was being affected by what was happening, and so faced with no other choice, he angrily growled in the comms line.

“Fuck it. I’ll just improvise with their name.”

When he said this, he removed his comm device from his ear and then, with a low and serious tone, spoke with solemnity –a complete contrast than how he had introduced the rest.

[Ladies and gentlemen, the last team in our lineup of participants today… Black Light… Curtain…]

He made a pause as to think of what to name this team but instead of ruining the atmosphere, right after he had spoken what first came into his mind, he himself felt that this name and how he had delivered it were all in accordance with the current atmosphere that seems to crush the entire arena.

As the light of the sol was completely blocked by the descending object, the people inside the arena all felt the horrifying presence of its might.

This was a feeling coming from just its shadow, what more if this thing completely falls upon them?

But of all the possible horrifying things that might happen, this object is falling slowly and it was deliberately made so by whoever these Black Light Curtain Guild are.

The announcer even murmured to himself, “Holy shit, I’m getting goosebumps. This is the best entrance I’ve ever seen in my entire career here.”

In fact not only the people of the arena, as the giant object slowly descended from the sky and blot out the light of sol, half the entire city of Warjillis was actually overshadowed by it.

The NPCs and the players became alarmed and all of the Guilds of the city issued a high alert status.

NPC Guardian Knights were mobilized as anti-warship LTA magic missiles were prepared. The City Lord’s Mansion was even alerted as the City Lord himself gazed upwards to see what kind of calamity was descending on his city.

As powerful as he was, it was easy for him to get an access to some of the rarest and perhaps most useful items as a player.

He used a special Binocular to magnify his vision and when he saw what that object was, all he could do was gasp as his body trembled.

“That’s…!!” The City Mayor wasn’t even trying to hide his alarm as he shouted inside his mansion to the NPC assistant waiting for his order. “Do not engage that object! No matter what you do, never aggravate the people on that ship!!”

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*****

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~OMMMMM~

The air began to tremble as a low droning sound started to embrace the arena.

As the shape of the coliseum’s structure was of a concave dome, the sound coming from the engines of the ship from the sky was easily picked up by its disc-like shape so the sound was amplified and became an ear-splitting, fear-inducing low-buzzing droning sound that can even be felt vibrating on the skins of every person present.

This droning sound didn’t lessen and actually slowly began to increase in intensity as the most minute of every nook and cranny of the arena began to tremble as if it was also in fear.

Even the rumbling air became a tangible force as the sound picked up by the arena scattered to the surroundings establishments in the city like ripples of a meteor slamming into a still water.

Inside, the spectators were beginning to panic as each second felt longer the more the shadow of that object condense at their location.

The NPCs whose easy to panic even began to stand from their seats and rush towards the exits while there are those who went to the bathrooms for they were unable to control their bladder that’s about to explode for fright.

Even the participants in the arena all began to frown as they were the ones who could feel and even realize the very meaning of what a «Grand Entrance» really meant. Thinking about it, in ancient times, wars were even won without the need to fight by just the way an army dazzlingly makes their entrance in the frontline.

This very concept itself is the one being displayed in their midst right now.

“Now this is a real entrance!” the announcer exclaimed with a beaming wide smile.

He wasn’t even aware that he was already sweating cold sweat as he floated there. The droning sound was now sending the entire arena into a chaotic basin as dust began to fall and threaten the collapse of the ceilings towards the spectators.

“I only came here to watch!” cried one spectator and like a tidal wave, one after another, those who’re unable to hold their panicked hearts began to cry for help and they too started to run towards the exit.

“Help me!”

“I don’t want to die!”

“Let me out! Lemme out!!”

There aren’t many of them but the unified voices of those screaming were sending the same fear of death on those whose about to fall in the abyss of horror and fear. The chain reaction of only a few people began to increase into a few dozen more.

But to all these, the management wasn’t minding the escaping money as they were all caught by the mere fact that of all the times they’ve seen a real [Grand Entrance], they only realize now that all of them were just spectacular lightshows and exaggerated flaunts.

Alas, some are even just a comedy show.

In one part of the arena, the Crazy As Pinoy Team is making awkward faces but they didn’t feel ashamed or anything and instead felt their blood boiling.

This Grand Entrance wasn’t making them intimidated at all and is actually boiling their bloods to an even hotter degree. Not only them, all those under the Top10 in the city ranks were all itching to start the arena matches now.

“If these guys have this much presence in just their entrance, then they surely have more than just talk when it comes to the real fight.”

Yes, after all, everyone who had traveled the cities of The North have all experienced countless tribulations and have been tempered by this harsh environment.

All of them are expert fighters and they fear very few things in this game.

Heck, even the Valkyries were all smiling as they could also feel their blood boiling in eagerness to fight while looking up.

The sky is now blotted by that enormous shadow and by now, its silhouette can even be made up by the naked eye alone. And yet the sky remained dimmed as if it was being screened by something.

The seconds continued to tick and the trembling, vibrating air were now sending more than just the shivering of the ceiling but is now a real quake that is shaking everything around the arena.

The buildings, the streets, the vehicles, the pavement… even the flying arcs stopped flying and the monsters stopped soaring. The sky is now given solely to this enormous descending object.

“It’s this sound…” Back in the City Lord’s Mansion, the City Lord frowned as he was one of the first to see what exactly the origin of this sound is. “So it’s really that thing. The legends were true about it… a cursed object that shouldn’t have been created, the very symbol of rejecting the Gods… «Akhenaton»!”

When the silhouette of the object became completely visible to the naked eye below, many spectators felt very alarmed.

“I-I-Is that a…”

“Hey, isn’t that a person?!”

“No! How can a person be that big?!”

“But look, there! Look at the crown on its head!”

“It’s carrying a weapon! Run away!”

“The light! What happened to the light of sol?! Why is it absorbing the light of sol?!”

“It’s going to kill us!”

“That’s not a ship, it’s a giant!”

“By the gods, the legends about the giants are true!”

“We’re going to die. We’re going to die!”

Cries of alarm rung one after another. Many rattled in fear at the mere sight of an enormous person in the sky that could blot out the light of sol.

No, that wasn’t even correct.

That object wasn’t blotting out the light of sol. It was actually absorbing it! There was a rotating, swirling black and gold colored sphere as large as its head floating on top of its crown as the bright rays of lights were visibly absorbed into it like a whirlpool.

In fact, if seen at a far distance, this orb of black light can be seen like a glowing external halo of void-space.

One look and an illusion akin to an exalted divinity can be thought of from the Akhenaton!

Akhenaton is a warship in every sense of the word.

Merely, its shape wasn’t the usual bird, or fish, or the dragon-like. Rather, it was shaped like a person. It was a ship modelled after an Ancient Emperor that rejected the Primordial Gods.

His name… was Akhenaton!

Akhenaton, an ancient ruler who rejected all of the Primordial Gods and ruled his empire by promoting the worship of the Khamen-Ahura, the Fiend of Fire!

This action caused his empire to flourish and became a tyrannical entity but ultimately summoning the wrath and ire of the Immortal Sages who gave him his punishment by setting his empire and all those who accepted his teachings to be cursed to live in eternal night.

(*Google it with the summary of The Book of Moses)

Akhenaton was strong and stubborn, declaring to the world that he is an exalted being and he shall forever stand and rule the lands beneath his feet.

This was his history. As long as Akhenaton is in the sky, everything below it will suffer darkness for they are subjected by his declaration!

By now the droning sound was in such a degree that even the space between one’s fingers are trembling.

Extending a hand might even prove it true and may even give the notion that while he did rule everything beneath his feet, the trembling lands under him was actually trying to escape his rule and go back to the embrace of the gift of the gods.

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*****

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“Such malevolent object!” The City Lord could only close his eyes as he realized where this warship was actually headed and as well as the purpose of its descent in this city. “Send word to the defense forces, there is nothing to be alarmed for. This ship is here for showmanship purposes only.”

One reason he sent that command is also because of the fact that there was also a secret that pertains to the person who’s wielding this weapon.

In fact, he knew who this person was!

“We have to befriend him no matter the cost.”

That said, the City Lord didn’t waste time as he gave his instructions to the NPC retainer behind him before jumping in midair and summoning a pair of black wings that flapped in the air, speeding him up towards the Southern District’s arena.

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*****

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“The black flames on the crown of Akhenaton is like a generator. As long as there is the light of sol, there is an unlimited amount of power to run this warship.”

Siva glanced down at the city.

They were still a good two kilometers above them but even on their position, they could see that half of the city was in a dimmed light situation.

“Isn’t this too powerful?” asked Thorn.

Volt followed, “But I can’t see any weapon in it. How can this be a warship without a weapon?”

“It has a weapon.” Said Siva and then glanced aside to Thorn on his right. “Whatever the pilot’s weapons are, it shall also be its weapon.”

The two were stunned with this piece of news. If this was the case, then if the Pilot of this Akhenaton was Siva, and if he was to complete his Black Tech, then adding his Killing Zone, then wouldn’t he become a completely invincible existence?

Seemingly to read their minds, Siva shook his head and sighed, “But as strong as its advantages are during the day, if there is no light of sol, then this is just a useless piece of metal.”

“Oh.”

“I see.”

“Yeah. It draws its power to the very force that it rumoured to reject. Weird right?”

“But what are you going to do now?”

“Are we going to jump down like this?”

Siva looked down and then smiled behind his mask.

“I’ve already prepared for that.” He said and then pulled out ten nano-cubes. “Just follow my lead and remember what I taught you earlier.”

Right after speaking, he also pulled out the Hammer of the Gods, Mjolnir, and then used the nano-cubes to apply a superficial change into its surface.

FLASH!

“Pft! This is too much!”

“Bwahahaha… I get it! I get it!”

“While we are indeed making a Grand Entrance, it is not bad to actually make a little show.”

Seeing the result made the two laugh their hearts out but they had to admit…

“This is really fun. Haha!!”

“Hahaha! I bet it’s 100% effective.”

“Hehe… I know right?”

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*****

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By now, the droning sounds they were hearing can be traced to that orb of black rolling fire above the giant object’s crown.

It was drawing all the light that should have been cast down on the world below it.

But the sheer size of this [giant] had surpassed any object that any normal player have seen. It was even twice as big as any other warship in existence. From head to toe, it was perhaps over a kilometer or so in size and this was four times bigger than the Garuda!

By the dimmed light they were seeing, they could see very clearly the entirety of the object. The skin was gold as well as its clothes design.

Everything about it was colored gold.

It was dressed like an Ancient Greek Ruler in an ancient kingdom who wore a royal sash to exhibit his royalty and grand status.

The body was muscular like that of a Gonn Race as its chest and abs were developed like a real macho man.

In its hand is a long scepter. And from the audience’s angle, they could all see that this giant object seemed to be alive as it was looking down at them as if it was a God or something.

And with how slow it was descending, it seems that it was demanding the low lives to bow down in worship.

With how domineering this entrance was, only the truly weaker ones will bow to it and worship.

The droning sound now was so intense that the entire arena is physically shaking. One could even lose their footing if they aren’t holding in something firm.

Thankfully, the entire arena is a large metallic structure and that it was still holding up because of the reinforcement magic cast by the High Magisters.

But the sound was still enough to actually physically render anyone with weak constitution to kneel down because of its effects to the sense of balance.

800 meters.

700…

600…

500…

Even though that kind of descent was fast for its size, because of this size as well, it seemed that it was still descending quite slowly.

400 meters…

300…

When it came to 200 meters, everyone in the arena and the entire city at that could now clearly see the entirety of this gigantic object.

The TV stations in the real world had lone ago heard of this grand spectacular event and there have been many offerings on the players that were in the arena.

Akhenaton… is now a sensation.

Forum boards were in the verge of crashing. The Hall of Famers wall in the official RPG: Terroa site were producing posts at a staggering speed of 2000/sec.

Even the world’s largest social networking sites, Fanbook and Tweeter, were manually moderating the flow of posts and livestreams.

Akhenaton undoubtedly had the shape of a man, complete with facial features and even its eyes had an expressive tinge on its glow, albeit expressionless.

When its feet were just 100m away from the arena’s top most edge, the droning sound coming from it was now so great that some of those physically able with middle-rank strengths are now kneeling down. What more are those weaker than them?

They were now on all fours!

Deb of the CAP Team, the one who messed up their entrance earlier, smiled widely while looking up.

“Akhenaton huh…” He murmured and then looked at the northern direction. “So you are the one who found that treasure.”

Saying this, he turned around and tapped the female member of their team’s shoulder to come with him.

“Where are we going?” She asked and the other two looked back at them before exchanging glances and following their lead.

“Ren is coming.”

“What! Fuck it!” roared the girl. “That useless Guild Master of ours…!! I specifically told him not to spoil my fun! These guys are my prey!”

“He’s not coming here for you.” Deb said and turned to her, pointing up with a finger. “Do you know the reason why we lost Akhenaton in Dragona?”

She frowned and recalled their failed mission, asking him with a serious face, “Why?”

The two behind them shuddered at the thought.

Deb chuckled and continued walking. “Because Siva arrived before we could find it.”

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They’re those three!!

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