New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live

***On another platform, during round one of phase three***

Phoenix was looking into the eyes of a person she recognized. This man was the last person she wanted to face.

It was Khalor, the Necromancer. Behind him, stood three colossal figures.

One, was a tall fully plated man, with a tall halberd in his hands.

The second, was a gigantic two-headed raven, looming over him.

The third, was a giant monster which she had been battling not so long ago. The Manticore.

Phoenix knew that those three undead alone could wipe the floor with her corpse. Her best bet was to take down the player faster than they could take her out.

But by any measure, that was easier said than done. She knew just by looking at him, that he was as strong on his own as his undead.

When the gong rang, Khalor immediately summoned wave after wave of zombies and skeletons. Her only choice available was to turn the platform into hell’s landscape.

She used her strongest spell, Inferno, and set the entire platform ablaze, with flames flickering from bright yellow, to white, and to blue. The fire was melting all the zombies and skeletons as they charged at her.

But the outcome had been decided the moment she faced her opponent. From the sky came raining a shower of poisonous spikes and fireballs.

And from in front of her, a shadow in full-plated armor dashed through the flames. All three attacks hit her simultaneously, taking out her health bar instantly.

The fight took mere seconds, and it was the first one to end. Once it did, the platform went back to normal, with Phoenix and Khalor face to face, and screens with the other fights next to them.

“Well, that went well…” Phoenix said with a dejected sigh.

“Don’t beat yourself over it. There is only one player here that could withstand those attacks currently.” Khalor replied, turning to watch the fights.

He was fixated on one screen in particular. One where, a familiar figure to Phoenix, was battling a Demonoid Berserker.

“Astaroth…” Phoenix mumbled.

Phoenix looked at Khalor, and could see he was watching pensively. His eyes reflected interest, but also curiosity.

“What is it that makes you and him so monstrously strong?” She asked him.

“Hmm?” Khalor replied, breaking out of thought.

“Why are you two so strong, compared to the others?” She asked again.

“Your friend isn’t overwhelmingly powerful yet. As his fight against Killi proved, he can still be fought on equal grounds.” Khalor said, rubbing his chin.

“As for myself, I will not reveal this information. You all will know in due time.” He said, turning his focus back on the screen where Astaroth’s fight was playing.

Phoenix couldn’t glean any additional details from the man, from his body language or speech pattern. It was like she was talking to a man that was trained to remain silent.

It only made her even more curious what this mysterious man knew. He was talking in enigmas and riddles, and she hated being in the dark.

The rapture with which he was watching Astaroth fight also troubled her. This man, who looked so confident in his assessments and statements, looked at Astaroth like he was a complete mystery.

“Why are you so obsessed with him? Why him?” Phoenix asked Khalor.

“Because he is a mystery. An uncalculated variable. An unpredictable piece, in a very complicated puzzle.” Khalor replied, his eyes glued to the screen.

“A puzzle? What puzzle? What are you talking about?” Phoenix asked, her confusion only growing.

“It matters not, for now. All will be revealed in due time.” Khalor stated, the screen before him going blank.

The two-minute timers had run out, and the next rounds were going to start soon. Khalor turned to face Phoenix, smiling and nodding, before they were teleported away.

Phoenix reappeared on another platform, next to her second opponent. She was frustrated by the lack of answers and flustered by the confusion Khalor had pushed into her mind.

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But for now, her mind snapped back to the task at hand. She locked her eyes on her next adversary.

The poor man shivered in his boots as her fiery gaze swept over him. He was a human warrior, in chain mail, holding a shield in one hand and a sword in the other.

He recognized the woman before him and knew he had lost this match already. She would burn him alive in a matter of moments, and he gulped audibly.

***In chairwoman Constantine’s office***

The chairwoman was watching the battles going on, keeping her eyes on two specific players. When she saw one of them obliterate his opponent, she shifted her focus to the other.

The sound was still on for the 2 platforms, and she could hear the conversation they were having. It troubled her, but she paid it less attention than the fight on the other screen.

She was watching the player named Astaroth attentively, trying to see signs of a legacy of any kind. That would explain his strength, but she couldn’t find any.

That meant he would only become stronger if he got his hands on one, and that made her smile.

‘Maybe we have hope yet.’ She mumbled to herself.

The conversation took a turn she wasn’t expecting on the platform with the player Khalor, and her heart skipped a beat.

When she heard him talking about a puzzle, it flipped a switch in her head. She immediately switched her focus back to him.

‘Does he know?’ She thought.

‘No. He can’t know. No one should know already.’ She mumbled, her eyes piercing through her screen.

This was adding to the importance of finding out who he was. The fact he had a legacy before they divulged the legacies, and that it seemed like he knew some classified information, put him in her priorities.

She had to find him, and quickly. Maybe he had answers to questions she had.

Her fist balled up, with her mind wishing her assistant could hurry on her task.