The Ancients World

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I can smell the freshly cooked food that was common on earth. Sally is looking a little bit happier the closer we get to the source of the smells. I'm picking up multiple different things, and I look ahead and see multiple player-owned restaurants up ahead. They are all packed with players and NPC's. However, one is disturbingly empty, with players scrubbing the floors. We slowly walk up to it, and I take a look inside. There are puddles of blood everywhere and body parts that have yet to be picked up. Whosever caused this has to be a pretty decent level and class grade.

Sally looks inside also, and she doesn't really look sick looking at the bodies and blood. She recoils a little, but after traveling with me. You have to get used to being showered in blood from time to time. It's nice to see that she's adapted to that particular part of being with me. Unsurprisingly, many bloody footprints are leaving the restaurant. Different shoe sizes that each enters the road and fades. The most amusing of them is a set of smaller bloody shoe prints heading to the restaurant across the street. Someone was hungry enough to walk out of this establishment and into that one.

I don't see this place opening until the gruesome scene is cleaned up. Before I can start walking to the restaurant across the street, I hear the marching of boots coming down the pathway to my right. I turn my head, knowing it's plenty of NPC's. Most are guards, and some are adventurers. Someone snitched, and now the cities guards are here to take care of things. They head straight for the restaurant across the street, the one where the bloody footprints lead too. "You as curious as I am?" I want to make sure Sally is comfortable watching something like this.

She looks at the guards and thinks hard for a second. "I'm sure the person who caused this isn't around anymore, but I don't see any reason not to watch. We might even learn something important, but I doubt it." I agree with Sally's assessment. Whoever caused this slaughter wouldn't stick around for long. If they did, they are either idiotic or strong enough to kill everyone hostile towards them. The guards stop in front of the restaurant, and an officer gets off his horse. They draw their swords and wait outside while the officer enters.

While Cera and Sally watch the ongoing spectacle, Sally's assessment was right. Hailey didn't stick around to eat on the spot. She ordered a to-go and is no longer in the area. Hailey is heading to a place in the city. It's an abandoned wool mill. However, it's a hidden entrance to the black market. She is following the information that Saul gave her, and now that she knows she has a bounty on her head, she knows it will be incredibly hard to move towards her goal. Jasmine's wish for the destruction of the slave market in The City of James and the death of the James family is the only thing on Hailey's mind. 

My plans have been ruined. Well, not completely ruined. It's going to be hard to complete my mission here now that I'm a wanted woman. I don't want to have to cut my way through hundreds of people, but I will if I have to. I'm pretty sure that what happened in the restaurant has spread like wildfire. It'll have two effects, and they both counteract each other. My identity is safe for now, but people will know it's me whenever Emerald comes out of the backpack. "You sure are a bundle of trouble, aren't you..." I speak just loud enough for Emerald to hear me, and I get a mew in response.

She pops her head out of the backpack and yawns. She had plenty of food, so she is probably feeling tired right now. I have no problems with her coming out right now. There is barely anyone around in this part of the city. It's mostly abandoned or under reconstruction. Buildings are falling apart from decay, and others with magical construction equipment by them are getting rebuild or refurbished. This must be the oldest and emptiest part of the city. I look towards the massive abandoned wool mill and think about what Saul has told me.

It's a haunting sight. To see a part of a city nearly abandoned and crumbling to pieces. Not a sign of human or humanoid life. It reminds me of the broken-down LA that I was in when we were first brought to The Ancients World. The only thing this place is lacking is the forests and vegetation consuming parts of the city. I want to return to the player continent one day. It's largely unexplored and abandoned. Most players have returned to their original continents. Some have stayed behind to try and rebuild, and that's interesting.

I can see the appeal of clinging onto a piece of earth, a part of the lives we one had, but if you don't evolve and adapt, you will perish. The ones that have stayed on the player continent will be severely lacking when they see the players that have returned their original continents. I'm pulled out of my thoughts by the sound of thunder. I look towards the direction, and a massive storm is rolling in. This is going to be the first time I've experienced a storm on Gaia. I'd say there is only an hour or so until it hits the city. As I continue walking, a world announcement goes off.

[Worldwide Announcement: All mass gatherings of players are going to be attacked in 1 hour! Cities, capitals, and towns with players will be caught in a storm as monsters from unknown origins begin attacking!! These are not monsters from the monster horde that the church is at war with. These are a new and strong enemy, exclusively hunting players! The stronger you are as a player, the bigger the monster forces will be that are coming after you!]

As all the players scattered around Gaia listen to the announcement, Angelus is sitting in a private dimension. It's decorated to look just like a normal room from earth. Angelus hasn't interacted with players in a very long time, not in this way. The last time was when they were all on the player continent, and Cera stopped the endless hordes of monsters by defeating an avatar of a great demon. Now the time has come to test the wills and new powers of the players again. Many have already made it to level 100, so these battles are going to be insane.

I sip my tea as I see the biggest of the storms roll towards The City of James. Cera is there, with his elven companion. The size of that monster horde is going to kill many players. They'll respawn only to die again. The players will have to defeat the boss of the horde coming towards their city. Their players not gathered in large groups don't have to worry about anything since they aren't getting attacked. These monster's only priority will be to find players and kill them. The weaker monsters will go after the weaker players, and the strong players will attract strong monsters.

It doesn't help The City of James since Hailey Adamo is there as well. It has caused the storm and monsters under it to be considerably stronger. A Divine class wielder in Cera and a Legendary Class user in Hailey will be attracting the strongest of the monsters to their locations. The cities and locations that these attacks are occurring at will have mass damage, and some NPC's will be killed as a result of it. However, The Almighty Father has assured me that this test is necessary. While the thought crossed my mind many times. 

It was The Almighty Father who asked me to do this for the players. The gods in Overworld have been quiet, planning for The Old Gods to start their war. "You have no idea what you've unleashed..." I sip on my tea again after I say those words. When Cera got his Divine Mana Aura, he unleashed The Old Gods, and that's why they are returning. The Divine Mana Aura that he has now was the original lock and key for their prison, and they gain strength every passing day now that they are free. The coming war isn't here yet, and won't be for a while. However, it is coming.

The players will play an important role in this war, and so are Cera and his family. Players weren't given immortality for no reason at all. The soldiers needed for defeating The Olds Gods need to be immortal because The Old God's forces will be endless.