“Ensure everyone maintains their individuality. Each separate will is not unique to the universal laws.” -Christopher Alsheimer, CEO of World Virtual Visions (WVV)

Caramoc Cove

Pirugan Continent

2 Days before launch of PADW

The spinning disc sliced past Leilan as she side-stepped out of harms way. The remaining swirls of azure lightning maneuvered strategically in a circle, as if waiting for her to make the first move.

Leilan didn't need to win this battle though. Buying Pandora enough time to make her escape was the priority.

The moon was completely consumed by the specks of yellow and blazed like a brilliant sun. Streams of silver laced around the circumference of the glowing sphere and glided to the ground, seemingly inserting themselves into the land. The sphere's pulses now beat uniformly. Rings of rainbow light shot outward and disappeared into the distance from all angles.

Leilan turned to Pandora. “Get going.”

Pandora nodded her assent and retreated towards the other end of the cove where a short tunnel promised an escape.

Leilan inspected the spinning discs. One of her eyes conjured a slight flame that burned a scorching blue and orange hue. The eye remained immune to the burn and her pupil narrowed.

“Initiating active skill, Flame Lure.”

Pandora glanced over her shoulder and saw that the vicious rings had become impatient and launched themselves at Leilan in unison. Pandora hated being the one to turn tail, but she knew that the box needed to be kept safe at all costs.

At the end of the tunnel, she was halted by a cliff that overlooked the expanse of the roiling ocean. She stared down and observed the curled waves battering the rocky shore. To her left was a natural staircase that led downwards.

What stood before the staircase was the real problem.

Pandora cursed her luck. “Seriously?”

A black armored warrior strode towards her. He drew a broadsword from the long scabbard on his back. The sword's length was as long as he was tall, and a small iron shield with intricate, swirling symbols attached to his left forearm. Gold spikes protruded from his helmet, and a single narrow slit was all that allowed him vision.

He took an intimidating, heavy step forward and flexed the multilayered, jagged fingers of his gauntlet. The smooth rock beneath his feet showed signs of thin cracks with his passing.

Pandora retreated a few steps back to put as much distance between her and the black knight as possible. She needed to hold on for just a little bit longer. The Reversion was about to take place.

Just a little longer...

She found herself at the edge of the cliff, the heel of her foot no longer resting on solid ground. Her foot rose and fell a few times, as if refusing to believe it reached the end of the line.

Pandora glowered at her enemy and set the box down beside her. She cleared her mind and readied herself for the inevitable encounter, despite the aching resistance of her body.

The knight was now only a few yards away, and he could easily close the distance with his bulky armor. He took a sliding step forward and lowered himself into a crouch with sword drawn parallel to the ground.

Pandora took a fighting stance of her own and conjured a sphere of darkness. A materialization of her own malice. It swirled calmly at first, and then increased in speed as she forced her hate to rise. It was the source of her power; the manifestation of dark emotions.

As the two monsters prepared to engage, a loud clamor of steel and pained shouts reached their ears. They stiffened at the sudden interruption. Pandora stared at the source of the turmoil. The sounds traveled up the stairs. More screams, grunts and heavy blows echoed, and then soon dwindled into silence.

The two monsters stood there expectantly, but nothing appeared at the top of the natural staircase.

Pandora saw it first. A silhouette appeared from an adjacent cliff. It crouched low and then leaped down directly above her enemy.

“Unnecessary dramatic entrance punch!”

The black knight looked up in time for his face to meet a spiked, metal fist that drove his head into the ground in a splash of rock and dirt that concealed both him and his assailant. The female who struck him drew back her other fist for a second attack, but the knight recovered faster than anticipated and drew a hidden dagger concealed in the waist of his armor. He slashed in an upper arc. The blade barely grazed the female monster as she reared her upper body to avoid the returned sneak attack. She pushed off the dazed knight and landed a few yards away, driving one of her fists into the ground to ease the landing.

The girl stood straight and threw her long, black hair over her shoulder, revealing a wide grin on her face. She flicked the small fins extending near her ears and grabbed one of her jagged horns in a mocking gesture. An aqua, silk kungfu suit extended to her thighs, covered by elaborate body armor of similar hue. What was most peculiar about her humanoid appearance was the long, cerulean tail extending from her lower back that brushed against the ground.

She smashed her armored fists together, and the metallic clang echoed throughout the cove. The girl turned to Pandora with the same winning grin.

“Heya Pandora! Just thought I'd drop in to lend a hand.” She pumped her fist in the air for emphasis.

Pandora's shock transformed into a relieved sighed. “Hello, Karin. Tell me, what is with you Chinese gods showing up at the last minute?”

Karin shrugged with that steadfast smile. “I dunno, makes things more exciting, I guess.”

The sound of scraping metal interrupted them as the dark knight rose from the shallow crater formed by the devastating punch. His hand rested on the flat of his sword and he drew it across the flat of the blade. At first, it seemed as if this motion was some sort of battle ritual, but upon further inspection, one could discern a faint, dull glow that emanated from the edges of the sword.

“Any idea what that active skill is?” Pandora inquired.

“Nope, but reinforcement isn't all that special.” Karin brought her fists together again, this time in a controlled manner, as she prepared her defensive stance. “I got this.”

Leilan bat aside the first disc and angled her halberd towards the ground to catch the second. The first disc smashed into a third, which lost course and buried itself in the rock. It didn't seem to lose its momentum and continued cutting through the stone in an awkward arc that passed Leilan at a safe distance from behind. The disc eating into the blade of the pole-arm was stubborn and attempted to slice through, but Leilan angled her grip so the disc ate into the rock instead. She centered her hands on the shaft of the weapon as a fourth disc drove into the top portion. This extra force pushed Leilan back, and she felt her feet begin to slide. Another leveled itself at head height a short ways in front of her.

Options were limited.

She readjusted her grip once again so that the driving force of each disc on either side of the pole distributed evenly. As the final disc was nearly upon her, she forced her hands up and her feet left the ground. She shot upward thanks to the two opposing forces of the discs. The final disc flew harmlessly below her and drove into one of the cliffs, utterly decimating it. The wall collapsed, and the resulting blast contributed to Leilan's forward motion. She rolled over, and the two hungry circles of magic disappeared into the blinding light of the moon.

Satan didn't sit idly by watching her impressive display.

Leilan beat her wings to push herself mid-air, but Satan's hand was faster. He grabbed her by the ankle, extended his arm back and flung her straight down. Leilan smashed into the stone and vanished in a geyser of demolished stone.

“Is that all, little fire bird?” Satan roared.

He brought down all of his massive fists. The sheer force spread out in six directions and climbed up the the rock walls surrounding the cove. After a brief delay, the six fissures exploded and showered the battlefield with more debris.

Leilan emerged from the swirling dirt behind Satan.

“No,” she said.

She swung with the axe side of her pole-arm and it dug into Satan's back.

Satan let out a grunt. “The land also gives the bird flight!”

Leilan ducked under Satan's arm as he whirled about, and put some distance between them. A blast of violet lightning shot from his palms. Leilan dodged with the aid of her wings and landed on an outcropping of rock.

Why isn't he using his active skill? Leilan wondered.

They sized each other up, preparing for the next bout.

Satan sat back against a boulder and allowed his arms to rest easily at his side.

As if on cue, a bright pillar of golden light descended from the sky and planted itself in the ground. Sparks erupted from the rock and small specks like fireflies encircled the pillar.

“Ah, The Reversion is at hand,” Satan said.

Leilan side-stepped so she could get a full view of the God Monster.

“You're awfully nonchalant for someone who just lost. What are you up to?” Leilan asked, masking the concern in her voice.

Satan leaned forward and clasped two of his hands together. “Nothing at all.” His deep voice boomed throughout the cove despite the even tone, “I only just realized that this defeat is a minor hindrance in the whole scheme of things.”

“Explain.”

“I see no reason to,” Satan replied. He decided to let those words sink in as he clasped two other hands behind his head.

He regarded the dark knights that stood around them. He had realized during Pandora's retreat that they made no attempts to pursue her. They just stood there, staring vacant into the distance with weapons held at their side.

“Ah, I forgot about your active skill,” Satan said. “They're enamored by your flame. A nifty little skill.”

Leilan closed her eyes without responding to the comment. She still sensed the presence of Pandora, along with another individual a short distance outside the cove. Then another she recognized. An ally God Monster.

Two more pillars of light appeared. These engulfed both Leilan and Satan. Leilan glanced down at her hand and felt a soft tingling sensation creep along her fingertips. They pixelated and flaked. As her fingers began to disintegrate, tiny flecks, no more the size of a grain of sand, floated up the pillar towards the moon in a lazy ascent.

Her whole body took on a strange sepia tone with a grayscale aura that outlined her form. She stared where her hands once were. The pole-arm disappeared next, and she felt naked, even though her hands could not have held the weapon.

When only their upper bodies remained, Satan gave her a slow nod. He vanished in the light. Leilan didn't know what that motion meant, but she hated to admit that a sense of dread creeped into her thoughts.

Karin landed against the rock wall and launched herself just as the blade of her enemy's sword embedded into the stone. The dark knight jerked his arm back and the blade bent at an awkward angle as he flicked his wrist. The sudden change in direction caught Karin off guard, and she was barely able to deflect the whip-like sword with a shower of water. The end of the blade cut her shoulder and she fell into a roll to break her fall.

The knight retracted the bladed whip with the quick snap of his wrist, and it became a broadsword once more.

It can change shape? Interesting, Karin thought.

The water that she utilized to block the blade began to swirl around her and morphed into the shape of a dragon serpent. The water dragon flapped a line of sapphire scales on its liquid form. Its lifeless eyes hardened to orbs reflecting like tough glass. It settled around Karin and rested its head on her shoulder, awaiting a command.

Karin turned to Pandora, who was grasping at her chest and quietly cursing. Just creating that tiny sphere of malice had drained nearly all of what little energy remained in her body. The parasitical aftereffects of the box still lingered and sapped her life force. The magic stones were still in their pure state, but she needed them to reach a certain level of corruption before the box fully sealed. Extra energy was necessary, so she had to allow the box to continue feeding off of her until it was satisfied.

“Pandora? Hey, you okay?”

Pandora waved her off. “I-I'm fine. Worry about yourself.”

Karin bit her lower lip and brought her attention back to the fight. It was true. This guy wasn't a pushover. Focus.

The black knight pointed his sword at Karin, as if daring her to make the first move.

Karin was accustomed to initiation, so she decided to humor him. The dragon resting on her shoulder slid down her arm, swirled around it and tightened, all while retaining its aqueous form. Karin snapped her fingers and, accepting the signal, the dragon charged forward, pulling Karin along with it. She beat her feet against the ground to increase speed and bound in a multitude of directions to make herself a challenging target. The water dragon also shifted direction when she formed signals with her bending fingers.

The knight lowered his stance and slid a foot back with the sword still extended. His other arm hung relaxed at his side, swaying no more than an inch in either direction, forward and then back.

As Karin drew near, he jerked his arm forward and the blade extended to an impossible length. It stretched a few yards. Then ten. Then twenty until it reached Karin. All in less than a second.

Karin saw the blade at the center of her sight, right between the eyes. It was as if everything entered a perpetual state of slow motion. The tip of the sword crept closer and closer, the flat of the blade reflecting the yellow light of the moon. That brilliant light was what prevented her from flinching. A flinch instigated hesitation, which prevented the crucial, slight twitch of a muscle that responded to danger.

She would not allow herself to flinch.

Karin let that disciplined, instinctive twitch take over when she noticed the second slight bend of her opponent's knees.

Karin relaxed her head and gave the water dragon another quick sign that was executed relatively simultaneous with the previous one. Her dragon was trained well, for it canceled the former command and processed the latter just in time to pull Karin to the side. The tip of the long blade sliced along Karin's cheek, drawing blood that it hungrily accepted.

It locked onto a new target: Pandora. Even in her weakened state, Pandora noticed the water dragon's last-second shift in direction. She rolled sideways and the blade shot over her head.

Karin detached the water dragon and skid along the rock. She planted her fist in the smooth stone and slowed to a halt.

She glanced up at her enemy. The black knight extended an arm, and his fingers formed familiar signs.

Karin's eyes widened. He figured out my commands already?

Immediately after that thought, The Reversion initiated its final stage.

The armored warrior relaxed his stance as a pillar of light enveloped his body. Karin and Pandora were admitted soon after.

The battle was over.

Karin forced a wink at Pandora, who responded with a weak, yet relieved grin as their bodies began to vanish.

Their mute adversary sheathed his blade into the scabbard on his back. It locked in the elegant handle with a metallic click.

Karin saluted her opponent before her hands disappeared. “Nice battle there friend, even if you aren't much of a conversationalist.”

The knight remained silent, but to Karin's surprise, he returned a similar swift salute. As the last of their bodies disappeared, the pillars extended into the sky, along with hundreds of others that extended all over the continent.

The pillars retracted, and a silence fell over the world that would be short-lived.

A hooded figure stepped into Caramoc Cove. He watched as the last of the pillars vanished from sight. The moon continued to pulse with its vibrant light. A series of vein-like cracks beat with an angry red like hot blood.

He examined the aftermath of the battle. Debris littered the ground, walls collapsed and black stains scorched the rock.

The God Monsters were impressive. They completely exceeded his expectations.

I hope the Players show as much promise.

The cloaked figure examined a teal, banded device that encircled his wrist. It was covered with an array of small lights that were currently faded. It was akin to a wristband that extended to his elbow with three thin slots that could be observed upon closer examination of its underside.

He reached into his robe and procured the disc he received from Takamura. He stared at it for a moment before inserting it into one of the slots on his arm.

The familiar, mechanical female voice spoke, “Artificial intelligence identified.”

A series of symbols lined up on the screen and merged. The man observed the two that remained.

“As expected,” he said. “Two artificial intelligence in this world. The Lady Overlook and...”

He trailed off as one of the symbols began to beat an angry red.

“Ah, I see. Lo has full control.” He pointed at the red symbol. “But you, you lie in wait. Why?”

One of the lights lit up as he ran a gloved finger over it. A holographic screen appeared before his eyes. He scrolled through the list of menus. After a brief moment of searching, he settled upon the one he was looking for.

A list of categories appeared. His finger hesitated. Soon, the Players would arrive and join their God Monsters. The events that followed held ramifications beyond just one world.

“Good luck, Puzzle and Dragons.”

He swiped his hand over a selection and confirmed.