1918

  After being approached by Centus, Acantha and Corcan stowed away to fight in the war but after their vessel got caught in a naval engagement, Acantha, Corcan and two other Centennials washed up on shore of a strange island, cloaked in light and they continue to wait for rescue

  Corcan: How many rations do we have left?

  Acantha: Not enough

  Corcan: So we’re stuck in this place

  Gaeventus: The name is Dawn Island

  Hunadon: We’re clearly left here to die

  Acantha: We at least have some drinking water

  Corcan: And a dead radio, we can’t contact help

  Acantha: Why did we ever agree to go with that lunatic?

  Gaeventus: Centus is no lunatic, they just couldn’t account for being blown up by The Graves Below unit

  Acantha: They probably survived

  Hunadon: Centus fell down from a ten thousand foot drop and survived, they’re probably enjoying the cool atlantic breeze

  Corcan: So this is what wanting adventure leaves us?

  Acantha: It’s not all bad

  Corcan: We are going to die on this island

  Acantha: Corcan, we’re f-

  Rustling is heard in the woods

  Gaeventus: What the hell was that?

  Unknown Local: Hi

  Everyone is shocked as a woman with cat ears and a cat tail emerges from the woods

  Corcan: Can we help you?

  Unknown Local: My name is Kyye and, our village is under attack by The White Witch, Optica

  Gaeventus: The White Witch?

  Kyye: She works for Ygmi, The Light King, we need all the help we can get

  Acantha: Well, we wanted adventure

  As Kyye continues to tell the castaways about what they can do to help, we pan back to the present situation our heroes find themselves in

  The Red Realm

  Atoll wakes up after the fall, right next to Corcan and Anmai

  Atoll: Are we back at your place?

  Corcan: Yup….

  Anmai: So, this world is beyond time?

  Corcan: It houses memories, souls, windows into other realities, stuff like that

  Anmai: Why is it red?

  Atoll: I doubt there’s a reason

  Corcan: There isn’t one

  Anmai: So what now

  Atoll: Hey, I don’t want to be the bearer of strange news but-

  A flickering purple light manifests itself in front of Corcan

  Anmai: What the hell is that

  Corcan: I had to untangle this from that the raging monster

  Atoll: The Grave?

  Corcan: Yeah

  Purple Light: Thanks for nothing

  Corcan: I’m still trying to find a vessel for you

  Purple Light: You’re not trying hard enough

  Anmai: Who is that?

  Purple Light: Cut the shit, you know me

  Atoll: You’re not who I think you are, are you?

  The Purple Light manifests itself as a hologram of the person it used to belong too, Acantha

  /

  Acantha: Thanks for shooting me off a tower by the way

  Atoll: Great, just great

  Anmai: Wait what the hell

  Acantha: Let me catch you up to speed, I was manipulated by that witch assbag to destroy the idol of light and have the city float away, this would cause you all to come after me and cause The Grave to be released, The Grave would weaken the barriers between worlds or something and The Witch also wanted me dead because I stole part of the White World to put in my office so I could monitor her activities after Corcan and I defeated her boss on Dawn Island years ago

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  Anmai: Wait, you stowed away too?

  Acantha: Yes, keep up. In his old age, I told Corcan to enter The Red Realm to keep an eye on the King’s soul and to stand guard in case Optica tried showing her face again

  Atoll: That is a lot

  Corcan: So yeah, that wizard friend of yours rended Optica’s body to dust somehow, so that ended up spoiling like all of Optica’s evil plans at the time.

  Acantha: It was so easy for her because Optica had been weakened because Zenial destroyed part of her world thus weakening her body’s protection.

  Anmai: I understand

  Atoll: So…what about when you pulled me in here because I felt bad about killing that woman over there and told me, sometimes you make hard choices and all that sanctimonious stuff

  Acantha: You did what?

  Corcan: What about that?

  Atoll: Was that part of your master plan? Did you care about how I felt at all? How about you grabbing me, Atlantic and two people who just rolled into town for an important quest instead of just getting everyone else?

  Corcan: Acantha and I fought against The King of Light after our boat got blown up and being stranded on an island, thousands of miles from the rest of society, you have no right to complain

  Atoll: You and your double standards

  Acantha: Ok guys, calm down

  Anmai: Hey Acantha, so from what I hear, you put the whole city in danger and now we’re supposed to work with you. You betrayed the Century Corps too. How do we know this isn’t some sort of elaborate scheme to take over the world or something?

  Acantha: Optica’s manipulation clings to you like an octopus suffocating you with its tentacles but I should have done more to prevent her grip from holding on me

  Anmai: And where are Thosmrr and Atlantic?

  Acantha: They are fine, probably

  Corcan: Alright Acantha, you need to follow behind us now

  Acantha: I will

  Atoll: And please don’t do anything stupid

  Acantha: I won’t!

  Anmai: So what now?

  Corcan: We have to find where Optica’s soul might be and also find Hedal and Phote before they can do anything’

  Atoll: Sounds easy enough

  Acantha: It’s never that easy

  Anmai: Ok so, how do we do those things?

  Corcan: We should just go to the Chamber of Souls located at the center, every soul should be there if they haven’t been moved

  Anmai: And how far away is this chamber?

  Corcan: Not that far away

  Atoll: Well, we don’t have much time to waste

  Begin Path To The Chamber

  When you’re 10% down the path, flakes of light appear, followed by two figures also cloaked in light

  Corcan: I assume more Optica underlings?

  Zxxx: You’d be correct

  Vado: The Court of Stars was incredibly hard to infiltrate, but our subterfuge let us in

  Acantha: How would one infiltrate the court?

  Vado: That is secret I will not reveal

  Zxxx: I will, see we took the essence of a star and bent it to our will

  Anmai: That sounds like it should be impossible?

  Vado: It was

  Corcan: So I assume that Phote and Hedal are up ahead in the chamber

  Vado: You assume correctly

  Atoll: You’re gonna get out of our way

  Zxxx: Aren’t you missing two people?

  Anmai: Oh yeah, what about that?

  Vado moves his hand through the air, revealing Atlantic and Thosmrr tied up and bound down to an altar

  Vado: Yeah, we did that

  Acantha: Heh, you just made a mistake

  Zxxx: How?

  Acantha: By revealing you have put a member of the Century Corps in danger, it just makes them want to kick your ass even harder

  Atoll: Let’s go

  Anmai: Lead the way

  Fight against Zxxx and Vado

  When Zxxx and Vado are at 90%

  Corcan: You want to just let us through?

  Zxxx: No, I’d die for Optica

  Vado: Same

  Acantha: Yeah, you’re gonna die if you don’t stand aside

  Continue against Vado and Zxxx

  When they are at 75%

  Atoll: So if we kill you will that free them?

  Zxxx: Oh hell no, Phote and Hedal have them in their custody while they prepare Optica’s return, really we’re just decoys that will be a major problem if you don’t kill us now?

  Corcan: They really planned out this strike to the fullest extent

  Acantha: We did similar in the past

  Corcan: I suppose that fight against Ygmi and Optica was only an afternoon

  Vado: An afternoon??

  Anmai: Wow you really rocked on

  Zxxx: Pfft, whatever

  Continue against Vado and Zxxx

  When they are at 50%

  Acantha: Think I can get an assist?

  Atoll: How?

  Vado: Yeah, how?

  Acantha: Watch this

  Corcan: Guess we’re doing this?

  Corcan uses one of his red cages to fling Acantha directly into Vado

  Vado: Ok, so what will this do?

  Vado’s body begins to glow Purple

  Vado: Uh oh

  Zxxx: I’m worried

  Vado begins to falter before exploding into purple light

  Acantha: You are welcome

  Zxxx: What the fuck

  Atoll: That was awesome!!

  Anmai: That almost makes up for your past crimes

  Corcan: Well that’s a stretch

  Acantha: Listen that was Optica’s fault too

  Anmai: That doesn’t mean I forgive you

  Zxxx: You still gotta fight me assholes

  Resume against Zxxx

  When Zxxx is at 25%

  Zxxx: There are only three of you. Why am I losing this badly?

  Anmai: Maybe you just suck?

  Atoll: Sounds about right

  Zxxx: I don’t appreciate getting mocked like this?

  Atoll: I don’t appreciate you kidnapping my friend, guess we’re even

  Zxxx: Oh bugger off you shitstain

  Corcan: Hey Acantha, want to do the thing again

  Acantha: I need to recharge it

  Corcan: Fine

  Resume against Zxxx

  When he is defeated, he begins to stagger around before Anmai picks up her staff and aims it directly at his head

  Anmai: Ready to die?

  Zxxx: Fine

  Anmai charges up her staff and fires a beam that completely incinerates Zxxx

  Atoll: He didn’t plea for his life?

  Acantha: Guess he wasn’t the prideful type

  Corcan: I figure that

  Anmai: Alright, let’s get moving we don’t have much time left

  Atoll: Well said

  Resume the Path to the Chamber

  When you’re 30% through the path

  Atoll: I have a question, this is a far cry from the place Corcan dragged me into so what about that?

  Acantha: You did what to the kid?

  Corcan: He had to understand that sometimes tough choices must be made

  Atoll: But where is the room?

  Corcan: It’s in an area called The Well of Reflection, we’d be better off not going there again

  Anmai: This place is odd

  Resume the Path to the Chamber

  When you’re 60% through the path

  Acantha: So do I get a vessel after this?

  Corcan: I’ll see what I can do

  Acantha: You know I’m just gonna go for it if it’s an option

  Atoll: Acantha I don’t think you want to go back down

  Acantha: There’s something else out there aside from Optica, something worse

  Anmai: Something worse?

  Acantha: It preys on the weak and leaves nothing but empty shells in its wake, it circles around its prey, like a buzzard.

  Corcan: Listen, you can’t be there to stop every threat

  Acantha: But I can try…

  Resume the Path to the Chamber

  When you’re 90% through the path

  Atoll: So what happens when we get inside?

  Corcan: Simple, we save your friends and then stop the ritual

  Anmai: It’s never that easy

  Acantha: We just went over that when those goons tried to stop us earlier

  Atoll: Guess we stay ready for battle

  Resume the Path of the Chamber

  When you complete the path, the Chamber reveals itself in a sea of red fog, the doors wide open

  Anmai: Looks like they left the door open?

  Corcan: They had too, they don’t have the key

  Atoll: How did they move so fast after we fell?

  Corcan: Can’t get hung up on that anymore, we must move

  The party rushes inside the chamber to defeat Phote and Hedal