Parallel Vol. 1
Chapter 29: The Circle

“Uaak!” Syèl cried out in pain as he crashed into one of Alure’s many statues. His health had dropped to less than a tenth of its original. He held his ribs as he stumbled to his feet, blood seeping from gaping wounds on his arms and face.

He turned to Shoko who was slumped against the wall, having lost consciousness. She was not yet dead, but with the rate at which she was losing blood, she would soon be.

“Wake up already!” screamed the halben. The target of his anger was the lady floating over her coffin screaming like a wild banshee. Her eyes snapped to him and he dove out of the way as the statue behind him exploded.

He could neither see nor comprehend her attack. It was not a blast of air or something physically similar. It was like whatever she looked at simply received a massive force on it.

Debris from the explosion crashed near Shoko, some grazing her arm. He panicked. In her state, she would not be able to defend herself, and if anything of considerable size fell on her, she would instantly perish.

With grim determination in his eyes, he left his hiding spot and stood at the center of the room. Alure turned to him, blackened eyes filled with malice.

“I don’t particularly take pride in this, but...” He dashed forward, eyes on her eyes. ALure let out a shrill cry and blinked. I was waiting for that. He suddenly bent backward, sliding on the earth as if playing an advanced game of limbo.

A huge force slammed against his raised head, but because of his positioning, the resultant force from his dash, position and her attack caused him to spin forward like a windmill. Shocked by the unconventional attack, Alure was caught off guard, but soon regained her composure and made to attack him again.

“Too late... Now wake up!” He stretched out his leg and kicked her right under the chin, using the momentum from her own attack to power his strike.

The force caused her to bite her tongue as she was launched into the air, but the halben was not done with her. Once he landed, he jumped again, spun around and kicked her in the chest, hurtling her into the wall which cracked from the impact.

She fell to her knees and looked up to see Syèl looming over here. He grabbed her by her robe and lifted her till their faces were only inches apart. “Sorry about this.”

SLAP!

Her eyes widened in shock from the blow, but she had no time to process it as he soon repeated it. SLAP! SLAP! SLAP! SLAP! SLAP! SLAP! SLAP! SLAP! SLAP! SLAP! SLAP! SLAP! SLAP! SLAP! SLAP! SLAP! SLAP! SLAP!

He unleashed an ultra-super slap combo born from the frustration of being weak and borderline insanity. Helpless against the hits, Alure’s face was sent flying in all directions. Amidst the blows, life slowly returned to her eyes.

“St.. pl.. sto.. plea... I SAID STOP DAMNIT!” She yelled as an invisible force knocked Syèl into the air and held him in place. Several veins popped on her body as she tried to keep her boiling anger in check.

“Finally! Thought you’d never wa-!” Syèl clutched at his throat in an attempt to break free from something choking him.

Alure’s right eye sparkled. “Nufufufu... To think that I would be treated so rudely by a mere elf.”

“H-hey... Y-you were crazy!” Syèl protested in anger.

Sighing, she released her grip on him and he fell to the ground, coughing. “I suppose I owe you my gratitude for rescuing me,” Alure said flicking her hair over her shoulder.

Great. I drew the diva card. Syèl took his time standing up as the pain from whatever had grabbed his throat still lingered. “... so what now?”

“Pardon?”

He noticed the blank look in her eyes and sighed. “You don’t know where you are, do you?”

Alure looked at the elf, then at her surroundings. Her eyes returned to the elf filled with fear, confusion, but most of all question. “Do you know me elf? It would seem my memories are foggy at best.”

“Does the name: Alure, goddess of death ring a bell?”

The goddess looked beyond the halben. “Alure... yes... that is the name father gave me.” She walked past Syèl towards Shoko who was on the last of her health. “He said I would guide souls back to the Circle...” she reached out to touch Shoko, but Syèl grabbed her arm.

“She’s not dead.”

Alure looked up at him, her expression still blank. “Do not fear. It is not yet her time.” She pulled free from his grasp and placed her hand on Shoko’s head. A bright glow radiated off Shoko as her injuries closed up and health sharply rose up.

Shoko jerked awake, nearly bumping into her savior. She looked from Syèl to Alure, to her uninjured body and full health, drawing an accurate picture of what was going on. “Haaa... I really thought I bought it there,” she said, stretching as she got to her feet.

Syèl chuckled. “You almost did. You need to thank Ore-sama for saving you.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “Hmph! I bet you were just lucky.”

“Hey! See here...” Sudden laughter drew his attention. “Hmm?”

Alure had her hand over her mouth, trying to gracefully hide her amusement.

“What’s this? Gods can laugh too?”

“N-no.. forgive me... fufu.. it is just you remind me so much of my brethren. They bickered a lot too while sharing a bond most unbreakable,” she said, smiling wistfully.

Shoko and Syèl shared a look, then turned to Alure. A few seconds of silence, then.. “fu-fufu..” “hahaha..”

The trio fell into cheery laughter amused by the weirdness of their dialogue. One second they had been fighting for their lives and now they were reminiscing?! That was just uncanny.

“You have my undying gratitude, young adventurers,” Alure said when she had regained her composure.

“It’s fine,” Shoko said. “We aren’t exactly saints ourselves.”

“Brave and truthful. A rare quality. Would any of you like to learn my secrets?”

New Hidden Class:

Convert?

YES NO

Syèl considered it. Choosing whatever class she offered would force him out of being a Blood Mage, and he had already developed a fondness for the class. Plus, he would have to start afresh. Shoko shared a similar train of thought.

They politely declined the offer, but Alure was not upset. “Still, I must reward you for releasing me. How about this?” She grasped their hands in hers, smiling as a warm glow enveloped the duo.

Mana Regeneration permanently increased by 20%

Health Regeneration permanently increased by 20%

Health lost from Bleeding permanently reduced by 10%

“I am sorry I cannot do more for you. It will be a while before I regain my full strength.”

“No!” Shoko yelled, eyes beaming at the notifications.

A blood mage like Syèl might not get the blessing they had just received but this was pure gold! Warrior related classes like hers received a penalty to their mana regeneration which caused long waits for mana to build back up, and it could also mean the difference between life and death in a boss fight.

Add that to the fact that at their current level, an item that granted +6% Mana regeneration rate would sell for a lot of money on the player market and one begins to get a picture of just how lucky they truly were.

This was worth more than any number of loot.

“You have our thanks,” Shoko said, bowing politely. Syèl noticed she bowed, not curtsied but decided not to pursue the subject... yet.

Alure shook her head. “I am only repaying a debt. “Do you have any requests you would ask of me?”

Syèl remembered the reason they had entered the dungeon. “There’s a town above us whose residents have been petrified. Can you do something about that?”

“Petrifaction... Yes, I can assist with that. Hold on to me.” She held out her palm and the duo grabbed it. A magic circle appeared below them and a second later, they were gone.

As the sun set on the horizon, a magic circle formed just outside the town of Neverun and three people appeared from nowhere.

“Ah! Sweet fresh air!” Syèl exclaimed arms spread wide as he sucked in a deep breath.

“Geez, you can be so unrefined.” A light wind tugged at Shoko’s hair, raising a light smile. “Though, I have to admit... this isn’t too bad.”

Alure watched the humes (refers to all sentient creation: elves, human, dwarves..etc), a stray tear rolling down her cheek. She quickly wiped it away and put on a pained smile. “Once again, I thank you for saving me, but I must return to the Circle.”

“..and the villagers?” Syèl asked.

“See for yourself.”

He did not have to. Cries of joy rang out from the village as men, women, and children embraced each other, overjoyed by their freedom.

“Heh. Not too shabby.”

Shoko punched the back of his head. “Do not mind him. You have our thanks.”

Alure smiled as her body broke away into little petals that were carried by a gentle breeze towards the heavens.

The duo watched the petals fly away and turned to return to the city when a great tremor like none ever felt before shook the ground they stood upon.

Kerta

Adventurers and residents alike fled their homes, terrified by the sudden earthquake that threatened to bring down the world around them.

Inside the training center, Bert opened his eyes, a sharp look in his gaze. He stood up and walked towards the door, somehow keeping his balance perfectly on the trembling earth.

Once outside, he removed his gloves and raised his right hand as if to grab the moon. A tattoo of seven broken swords tied by a sash of blood burned in excitement on the back of his hands.

Nama Woods

Fladnag raised his staff to the sky as his robe was set ablaze by a huge tattoo on his back. “Finally...” he muttered, his voice cracking. “Finally, time moves again.”

Jatakem (The Holy City)

At the center of the continent lay a city called Jatakem, where Aethir was said to visit before the Calamity. The city still possessed her blessings long after her disappearance and was supposedly impossible to impregnate by any forces of evil: physical or otherwise.

The High Church sat at the center of the city, and at its center was a room in which a raven-haired young girl sat with several priests offering their prayers for the realm’s and their god’s safety. Her entire body was covered within a white kimono used for prayers.

“What sorcery is this?!” A priest cried as he shielded himself from falling embers from candlesticks. “Where is this attack coming from?!”

“Calm yourself,” The girl with raven hair said. “It is not our time yet.”

“Sayen-sama!”

The girl called Sayen looked to the heavens as the silhouette of a tattoo formed beneath her gown. “It has begun...”

Planide

Several Wood elves gathered around an old elder whose right arm burned with a strange tattoo they had never seen before.

“Ah... Dear Alure.. Finally...”

?????

Several depths below the earth, a dwarf crushed an Aemole (resembles a giant mole, but with larger teeth for hunting huge prey) with his bare hands, laughing heartily as a tattoo burned on his forehead. “It’s here! It’s here! It’s here! It’s here! It’s here! It’s here! It’s here! It’s here!”

A few miles from where Syèl and Shoko were, a dragon nudged its master with its nose concern in its eyes.

“It’s nothing,” its master said, clutching his arm. “This only means...”

As if by some force of nature, all seven chorused at precisely the same time. “The Circle is Reborn.”

A level forty-nine user lost his footing due to the earthquake and cried in anguish and anger as the boss goblin he had been fighting crushed him with its club.

He had already died once before and knew what to expect. Darkness.. and the words “Game Over!”

However, something different happened. A warm green light appeared around him as a beautiful lady with white hair appeared before him. She wrapped her hands around him and a new message popped up.

YOU DIED

SAVE OUR AVATAR?

YES NO

Surprised, he chose yes.

Your soul has been entrusted to Alure, Goddess of Death. When the Circle is fully restored, you may once return to the earth with this soul.

“Lies..” he stared, slack-jawed. Even when the game-over message came up shortly after, and he returned to the real world, he was still dumbfounded.

He stumbled over to his laptop and went to the game website. As expected, he was not the only one; there was already a huge craze about it on the web.

@Wastertime98: Dude, my character was totally saved!

@pwnnebs247365: I knw! Lol.. hw u think we get dem bk?

@Draculgun: She said something bout a circle? What the heck is that?

@Wastertime98: Newb!

@pwnnebs247365: Noob!

@Wastertime98: GTFO!

@TheInstructor: Guys chill. @Draculgun The circle is from the last game. It was basically their excuse for why we could come back to life.

@Wastertime98: *applause* We’ve got an MLK here gents!

@pwnnewbs247365: I’m a girl -_-”

@Wastertime98:...

@pwnnewbs247365: So... hw we go abt fixing dis here circle..

@TheInstructor: Dunno.

@Wastertime98: Fuck if I know!

@Draculgun: Um.. I’m new here and all, but why don’t you just ask whoever released Alure?

@Wastertime98: ...Fuck off Noob!

@TheInstructor: You shut up! He makes a good point! @Draculgun Problem will be if whoever released her agrees to share the info...

@pwnnewbs247365: yh well, as in the immortal words of Klein. “Net Gamers are a selfish bunch...”

@Wastertime98: lmaoooo! Soooo true!

@TheInstructor: Hate to admit, but that is quite accurate.

@Draculgun: ...Who’s Klein?

@Wastertime98: WTF?! Seriously?