[Warning: You have encountered a World Boss. Extreme caution is advised.]

The warning flashed through Jack’s mind after the Remnant Gate opened completely. Ciel’s expression twisted into worry and all traces of mirth left his face. Dark aura rolled out of the gate flooding the staging area like a tidal wave.

[Warning: World Boss has used Aura of Terror.]

You have failed to resist and are now Terrified

[The Terrified condition has been suppressed by Sigil of Tranquility.]

Jack felt the sigil on his forehead grow hot, yet the mark continued to quell his emotions. Beneath its influence, he experienced a primal fear which he knew would cripple him if it weren’t for Ciel’s skill. Unfortunately, everyone in the camp wasn’t so lucky.

Screams pierced the silence following the Remnant Gate’s opening. Some of the staging crew dropped what they were doing and started running away as fast as they could. Some fled to the buses while others simply fled on foot into the greater Spire Wasteland. Meanwhile, the remainder of the people in the staging area froze in horror as death emerged from the Remnant Gate.

A vaguely humanoid skull pushed its way through the darkness of the swirling portal. Its gaze swept over the area and the rest of its skeletal body stepped through. The entity towered over Ciel and Jack who were closest. It was easily over eight or nine feet tall. Around its shoulders, a great tattered cloak hung down to cover part of its bony frame. At the center of its chest, Jack saw a gem filled with swirling dark and light energy which pulsed rhythmically like a heart and in his own chest, his power core thrummed warmly filling him with an oddly pleasant sensation unbefitting of the horror around him.

His eyes met the empty sockets of skeletal being and it spoke, “So, you are the cause.”

Before Jack could begin to process what the creature meant, several multicolored flashes encompassed Ciel’s body and the Celestial made his move. Jack barely saw the motion. One moment Ciel was next to him and the next, he was airborne aiming a punch shrouded in red light at the skeletal giant’s skull. The creature didn’t respond to the attack, but before it landed, a black wave of energy smashed into Ciel sending him flying back.

“My king, I wish you’d have let me enter the portal first,” said a woman as she stormed from the Remnant Gate’s swirling depths. At one point, the woman had likely been gorgeous; however, her features were tainted by black veins, sallow skin, and eyes that were wells of darkness. She was a beautiful horror adorned in armor the color of night with silver filigree forming intricate designs on her breastplate, gauntlets, and greaves. At her left side, she held a curved white blade which shone with dark light.

Following her, a skull similar to the giant’s arrived. It was oddly pristine compared to the other two. The skull’s forehead sported a symbol which radiated power and matched the glowing red light in its eyes. It agreed with the woman. “Yeah, boss. That was reckless.”

After the skull, three more individuals followed each wearing armor similar to the woman’s but their features were hidden by cowls and helmets. The “king” ignored its companions and continued to meet his gaze. For his part, Jack also found it impossible to look away as well. With the Sigil of Tranquility dampening his emotions, he observed it all with an eerie calm. His hearing picked up Ciel landing somewhere behind him and the creature spoke, not taking its eyes off Jack, “Rovena, deal with the lightweaver.”

Without a word, the black-eyed woman kicked off cracking ground as she did so. She rocketed past Jack charging the Celestial with dark energy trailing from his white blade. Less than a second later, the sound of an explosion rocked his senses and body sending him sprawling. He looked up in a daze only to see the skeletal king reaching for him. His power core thrummed again and in a fit of madness, he took hold of deathly entity’s hand.

***

As Atlas fell to his knees in front of Ciel, Raina felt a surge of anger. She had been right. She could tell from Atlas’s body language that he was despondent. Hopefully, she could sort out the mess and they could come to a better conclusion that didn’t involve screwing over someone else. Despite her anger, Raina froze midway to Atlas and Ciel when she saw the Remnant Gate open. Her eyes widened in surprise. Was that supposed to happen?

Then, the wave of black energy washed over her and her thoughts went blank. She dropped to her knees as her heart seized in terror. A few notifications flitted through her thoughts but she barely noticed them. She watched, paralyzed by fear, as a skeletal figure emerged from the swirling black Remnant Gate. The sight of it filled her terrified mind with hopelessness. Her primal instincts told her that if it wished, she would die like an ant trampled underfoot. The despair choked her breath from her. The image of fire rushing toward her flashed through her thoughts and she screamed. It all came back: the fear of dying, the pain of her flesh burning, the smoke in her throat and nostrils halting her breath.

Some kind of explosion went off nearby. She saw Ciel fighting, fighting a woman; however, her mind couldn’t the world around her. She was trapped in the present and the past, yet neither was more real than the other; in both, she was about to die.

Abruptly, something touched her mind and a notification broke through her terror.

[Cordan has used the skill Defensive Mindlink. Do you wish to join the mindlink? Y/N]

The part of her which held on despite the fear recognized the chance for her to do more than die on her knees. With great effort, she acquiesced to the mindlink and her fear instantly disappeared. Then, a man’s voice sounded in her mind.

This is Cordan, B-rank overseer from the Relic Hunter guild. If you’re hearing this, it means my mindlink successfully reached you and broke the boss’s fear aura. Listen closely, the gate has Ruptured to S-rank. I advise getting to the nearest bus as quickly as possible while the boss is preoccupied. Do not engage the enemy. You will die.

Along with the message, Raina could feel Cordan’s morbid determination seeping through the link. It was like listening to a soldier that knew he was going to die but planned to proceed with his mission. That feeling suffused with Raina’s own emotions and she got to her feet.

Turning back toward the bus, she saw Julian stumbling to his feet. He must have been saved by Cordan’s mindlink as well. She moved to help him up when a thought occurred to her. The boss is preoccupied? Preoccupied with what?

Ciel was fighting a woman in black armor. The two moved in ways that looked more at home in an anime fight scene than in reality. She caught one glimpse of their battle and it shocked her senses. Ciel’s hands glowed, one with red light and the other with white. His movements were graceful and practiced like a master martial artist as he deflected the woman’s blows with his white-shrouded hand while attacking with a fist covered in red energy similar to her Heavy Blows skill but much more intense. For her part, the woman seemed to keep pace with Ciel. Her white blade flashed with dark energy after every stroke and parry. She displayed a level of swordsmanship which Raina was certain would have put her sword instructor to shame. The two exchanged almost a dozen blows in the moment before Raina lost sight of them again. If Ciel was fighting that woman, then who or what was preoccupying the boss? The smell of blood filled her nostrils as she finally worked up the courage to look at the skeletal figure again.

Atlas was standing in front of the boss and the creature had hold of his left arm. She watched on in horror as it reached toward the Tracer’s head with its other skeletal hand. There was nothing she could do. Atlas was going to die. The futility of her actions weighed heavy on her mind just as a silver-haired man raced past her with a metal rod in hand.

She recognized the clothing; it was Julian. She couldn’t believe it. He was going to his death. Had he even hesitated? Why was he doing that? Was it just to save his friend? In her mind, the powerlessness she felt taunted her. She had to run. She didn’t know Atlas and two pleasant interactions didn’t mean she should risk her life for Julian’s sake. Regardless of those very reasonable thoughts, her eyes drifted down to the ring Ciel had given her for emergencies. It was a potent one-use D-rank Relic. It would do no good against the boss; all the same, she might be able to save Julian if she reached him before he drew attention to herself.

In the stories she’d read while trapped in her own body, the heroes were forced to act even when they had no hope of success. She was no longer trapped and this was her story. She didn’t consider herself a hero, but she could stop at least one death if she was fast enough. Despite her better judgment, she activated Combat Surge and ran after Julian.