EGO: Explore Game Online (LAMBDA)

What little they knew came from a teaser article published by the studio—a mere breadcrumb amidst the vast unknown. The article hinted at a new quest that could only be unlocked by defeating the boss of floor 91, the Void Knight. But beyond the name, no details were provided. No one knew the Void Knight's abilities, his strengths, or his weaknesses. Players were left to speculate, crafting theories based on scraps of information and intuition.

One of the most popular theories stemmed from a connection to the boss of floor 90, The Chrono Calculator—a being who wielded the power to manipulate time itself. If time manipulation had defined the previous challenge, could the Void Knight command space or the void? The name alone—Void Knight—suggested a dominion over darkness, perhaps an affinity for space manipulation or even control over the abyss itself. But all of this was speculation, guesswork spun from fragments of a deliberately opaque puzzle.>

Ronin's voice brought the group back to the present.

"...We don't know what he can do. We don't know what his weaknesses are or how strong he is. What we do know is this: he's guarding the path to a sweet quest, and the only way we're getting through is by crushing him."

He paused, his gaze sweeping across the group. "That means we prepare for anything and everything. No holding back, no second-guessing. We assume the worst and fight like hell. Understood?"

"Yes!" they all responded.

After finalizing their strategy, the group left the guild and made their way to the teleportation circle on floor 79 in Sevian guild, where they currently resided. The shimmering blue runes of the circle glowed faintly as Ichio input the coordinates for floor 91.

The group stood in the circle, a faint hum resonating as the Metra activated. In the blink of an eye, they were transported to the entrance of the 'Darseren' on floor 91, the oppressive atmosphere hitting them immediately.

The path ahead was dark and foreboding, shadows twisting unnaturally along the walls. The faint, rhythmic sound of dripping water echoed through the 'Darseren', but it was drowned out by a sinister chittering that grew louder as they advanced. The first wave of shadowy monsters emerged from the darkness—small, distorted silhouettes with glowing, hollow eyes 'void fiends'. Their bodies seemed to ripple, merging with and darting through the shadows around them.

"Here we go," Ronin said, calling forth his dark sword. The blade shimmered with a faint, ominous glow as he moved to the front.

The creatures surged forward, their movements erratic.

"Yasei, handle the flank!" Ronin ordered.

"On it," Yasei replied, vanishing into the shadows as if melting into them. Within moments, distorted shapes on the edge of the group fell silently, one by one, as Yasei's twin daggers struck with lethal precision.

Sherry requipped her dark dispel sword, its blade gleaming faintly with a purifying aura. "Keep them off me!" she shouted as she swung, her strikes cleaving through the monsters. With each slash, the creatures dissolved into wisps of black glitch.

"Takashi, smash them down!" Ichio called, using his Metra-based abilities to scatter a group of monsters with a dark slash.

"Way ahead of you! And don't give me orders" Takashi roared, leaping into the fray. His fists slammed into the ground, creating shockwaves that shattered the distorted monsters into fragments. "These things are nothing!"

From a distance, Rosewalt nocked an arrow and let it loose, the projectile weaving impossibly through the chaos. It struck a shadowy monster mid-leap, exploding it into black ash glitch. "Keep moving! I'll cover the path ahead!"

Ryoka stood near the center, conjuring the devil Neginia and the spirit Posinia. Neginia's presence darkened the area, causing some of the monsters to turn on each other in a frenzy, their forms tearing themselves apart. Posinia, glowing softly, illuminated the battlefield. Any creature caught in the light froze before dissolving into pure white energy.

"Don't let them overwhelm you!" Ryoka warned as he commanded his conjured entities to protect the group.

Ronin swung his dark sword in wide arcs, slicing through multiple creatures at once. "Keep pushing forward! We don't have time to waste!"

Ichio stood close to Sherry, using dark slash and pure light to clear any monsters that broke through. "Stay close to me. They're trying to split us up."

Sherry nodded. "I've got your back. Just focus on fighting them off."

The group pressed onward, their teamwork flowing seamlessly despite the chaos. The shadowy creatures were relentless, darting through the darkness and emerging unpredictably. Yet, the party adapted, their abilities countering the creatures' shadow manipulation and spatial tricks.

At one point, a larger shadow monster emerged, its body writhing like liquid smoke. It lunged toward Rosewalt, but Takashi appeared with incredible speed, smashing it apart before disappearing again.

"Nice save," Rosewalt muttered, loosing another arrow.

As they neared the massive obsidian doors, the number of shadow creatures dwindled, though the oppressive aura around them grew heavier.

Finally, they stood before the towering doors, etched with intricate patterns of stars and void-like swirls. The design seemed to shift and writhe, as if alive. The remaining shadows dissipated as the group gathered, catching their breath.

Ronin stepped forward, his expression stoic. He placed his gloved hand on the door, and a deep rumble echoed through the chamber. Ethereal text began to appear before them, glowing faintly in the air.

The text lingered for a moment before fading into nothingness.

Ichio furrowed his brow. That origin… It sounds like he wasn't always a monster. He was… betrayed. How much of his humanity is left in there?

Rosewalt broke the silence. "So, we're dealing with something that's not just strong, but also really angry. Great."

Ronin turned to the group, his voice steady but firm. "This isn't going to be an easy fight. If anyone's second-guessing, now's the time to back out."

Ryoka scoffed. "We've come this far. There's no way I'm turning back now."

The others nodded in agreement.

Ichio stepped forward. "Let's do this."

As Ronin pushed open the obsidian doors, a rush of cold air greeted them, and they stepped into 'The Void of Abyss', the boss room of floor 91 the Void Knight. The space inside was unlike anything they had ever encountered. The walls seemed to stretch infinitely in all directions, warping and bending as though the very fabric of reality was twisted, the floor beneath them rippled like water disturbed by an unseen force. Stars glimmered sporadically, suspended in space, their light flickering in and out of view.

Ryoka's voice broke the silence, his confusion cutting through the eerie atmosphere. "Wait, I thought, since he's called the Void Knight, the boss room would be like a void of nothingness. So how come there are stars in here?"

Takashi glanced around, as he studied the space. "Can't you see? It's like a distorted space... but there are still stars. I don't really get it either, but this doesn't look like pure nothingness."

The party walked deeper into the warped room, the sensation of walking through layers of space disorienting them. Time seemed to slow, and yet, the oppressive atmosphere remained thick in the air, pressing down on them. The stillness was interrupted by a sudden movement ahead—there, sitting on an ancient throne, was the Void Knight.

At first, he seemed impossibly far away, just a silhouette in the vastness of the room. But before they could even register the distance, he was suddenly right in front of them—mere inches away. The shift in space around him made it feel as though the room had folded in on itself.

The Void Knight stood, his armor shimmering like the cosmos itself—vast, starry, and unyielding. The blackness of his chest seemed to pull in the very light around him, a dark hole where a heart would be. He grasped the hilt of a massive blade, its edge pointing downward, as he regarded the party with an unreadable gaze. The eerie sensation of endless space surrounded him, as if he were both part of the room and completely apart from it.

"Mere mortals darest to challenge mine authority?" The Void Knight's voice was deep. "I, the Void Knight, shall show thee thy place."

Sherry, rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, unimpressed. "Wow, that's kind of cocky. You haven't even seen what we can do, and you're already saying 'mere mortals'? We aren't just mere mortals, you know."

The Void Knight's gaze didn't shift, and his voice echoed even louder, almost as if it carried through the very stars around them.

 "If thou dares challenge me, thou must choose. Use thy full power, and I, the Void Knight, shall also honor thee by using mine full power and fighting at full strength. Or restrict thyself, and I, the Void Knight, shall also put restrictions upon myself. Believe, for I shall honor mine words."

The challenge hung in the air, weighty and ominous. Ichio, his expression calm, was the first to speak up.

 "Guys, I think we should take his offer and limit ourselves. If we don't, and we actually fight him at full strength, I know we might have a chance of winning, but how do we know that he doesn't have an ability that will instantly take us out without even us realizing it?"

Ronin, ever the leader, turned to the group, as he nodded thoughtfully. "For once, you actually make sense, Ichio."

He then stepped forward, his voice steady and resolute. "We accept your proposal. We will take the limitations."

The Void Knight's dark gaze never left them, but his form seemed to shimmer in approval. At that moment, a board materialized in front of each party member, an ethereal panel inscribed with glowing text.

The ethereal board in front of each party member pulsed with light as they looked at the options before them. It was a daunting choice—each of them had to pick a Weapon or Artem-Ability, and it was clear that the Void Knight was no ordinary opponent. The uncertainty of what Artem-abilities or powers the Void Knight might wield made every decision feel like it could be the difference between life and death.

Ronin, standing tall and steady, surveyed the group, his voice commanding as he spoke. "Okay, guys, I'll say one thing. Choose Artem or weapons that will really help us in the fight. We have no idea the kind of Artem-abilities he has, so we should choose carefully."

Rosewalt, spoke up with a sigh. "Since he's called the Void Knight, he might have an ability to manipulate the void. And how do we know that in his limitation, he will exclude it? So, yeah, I'm a long-range fighter, so I'll just stay in the back and support you guys, since I'm an archer."

Ichio nodded solemnly. "You're right. Choosing abilities to counter him will be the best choice, and I have no such ability. Only darkness manipulation, and I don't think that will be much of help here."

Yasei, spoke up. "I am an assassin. I have a great deal of abilities that work best in the shadows. And this place is dark, so I believe I'll be a lot of help here."

Sherry, crossed her arms as she looked at her board, "Okay, guys, choose the best Artem-abilities. We need every advantage we can get."

Takashi, grinned mischievously. "Wait, Sherry, you're a Requiper, right? What kind of gear are you going to requip? I know you definitely have a gear that can counter him, or maybe even defeat him before we can even start the fight. But I know you don't like using your best gears."

Sherry's gaze shifted to Takashi. "Well, I was planning to use my 10th most powerful requip gear."

Ichio blinked. "Is it part of your Archeans?"

Sherry looked at Ichio, her surprise apparent, but she said nothing about how he knew the name "Archean." Instead, she shrugged nonchalantly.

 "Yeah, it is. It's known as 'Shiryon HaGiborim', The Hero's Armor."

The group was now fully engaged. Each member began to focus, choosing their Artems carefully, knowing that the Void Knight would not be an easy foe to defeat.

Ronin, scanned his options with a critical eye and spoke up.

"Well, according to what I'm reading, it seems like we can only choose four Artem. And if you have special weapons, it means you can choose two weapons and two Artem-abilities," Ronin explained.

Takashi, grinned as he read his choices. "Well, for me, I'm a Berserker, and I can also choose four Artem abilities, but still, my Berserker Axion class ability allows me to always enhance my physical stats. That means I only need to choose an Artem ability that doesn't enhance my physical stats."

Ronin nodded, appreciating Takashi's strategic thinking. He then looked at his options and declared, "Well, I'll choose the Abyss Sword, the Sword of Borrowing (Baroul), the Sword of Absorption (Arson) and the Null Sword. Those are the swords I think will actually help me in this fight."

Takashi gave a brief thumbs-up. "Good picks, Ronin. I'm going with Cause Out and Metra Fluctuation. I'll also take Mental Invade and Artem Replica. I was going to choose a weapon the Sword of Enchantment, but if I chose it, I'd be limited to only one ability in addition to it. That's why I didn't go with it. I think this will be the best choice."

Ryoka, spoke up "Well, time for me to choose. It seems like I can only call upon two devils and two spirits, which means I won't be able to use a lot of the devils or spirits I'm contracted with.

So, I choose the Abyss Lord, the Devil of the Abyss, and also the Spatial Fiend, the devil of space... and I'll take the Spirit of Good Fortune and the Spirit of Purification.

I kind of have a feeling this guy will have some power that has to do with status effects. If that happens, we'll need Purifying to cleanse it. So yeah, I'll take care of the Purifications."

Yasei, continued with his selections. "Well, I have many weapons, but I think the only ones that will help here are the Chains of Gleipnir and the World Daggers. So those are the ones I'll choose. For Artem, I'll pick Dimension Shift and Law Intangnation."

Sherry, always calm and self-assured, nodded in confirmation. "Well, you already know what I'll requip. It's Shiryon HaGiborim—The Hero's Armor. It's actually exceptionally powerful. When the fight begins, you'll see."

Rosewalt took a moment to study the options. "I'll choose Divine Archery and the Bow of Reflection. For Artem, I'll take Nature's Law and Creation."

Once everyone had selected their weapons and Artem-abilities, all eyes turned to Ichio. His brows furrowed as he read his screen in confusion.

"What? I don't actually have limitations. I'm allowed to use all of my Artem-abilities. I don't really get it," Ichio said.

The group stared at him in disbelief. Rosewalt was the first to speak. "Seriously? So why did we have limitations, then?"

Yasei's eyes narrowed as he added, "Yeah, what gives?"

Ryoka was equally confused. "How is that fair?"

Ichio shrugged, clearly perplexed but also a little uncertain of why he wasn't facing the same restrictions as the others.

"I don't know... Maybe it's because I'm so weak compared to you guys?" He grinned sheepishly, trying to lighten the mood but not entirely understanding the reasoning behind it.

The rest of the group exchanged looks, their unease mounting as they prepared for the battle ahead, still unsure why Ichio seemed to have no limitation, was it due to his weaker stats? The challenge with the Void Knight was about to begin.

 CHAPTER END.