New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live

After hearing the weapons bang on each other, Astaroth opened one eye. In front of him stood the Grippli Lord Marshall.

He was fending off the attacks from the Lizardman, protecting him from harm. Astaroth was grateful for this development, as now he could keep being useful for a while.

He quickly got up and dashed away from the fight, before he got hit accidentally, or ended up tripping the Grippli. Since he was now melded to Luna, he did what he did best in this mode.

He started bombarding the boss lizard with spell after spell, inflicting only moderate damage, but in quick succession. Violette was doing the same for now, trying to let her mana reserves go back up.

The Lizardman had stopped trying to break the ice on his limbs, since he had no more time to do it. Losing a hand had severely impacted his combat ability, and he was now on the back foot against his original opponent.

Astaroth accumulated all the Aether he could for over two minutes before unleashing a Moon Beam right into the Warrior-King's back. It cut his transformation short, but on the other hand, the damage he dealt was more than enough to compensate.

*-451'500!!*

The Grippli had swiftly moved away from the attack line, trying not to get hit. The Lizardman had not expected the attack, and it flung him off his feet.

He was rapidly shot at the wall in front of him, taking more damage.

*-52'558*

That single attack alone had almost taken five percent off the boss' health, and Astaroth was very proud of himself. Unfortunately, he also shoved the boss across the twenty-five percent mark.

A loud, guttural roar echoed from inside the cloud of dust the impact had made. It sent chills down the two players' spines.

Astaroth turned his head toward Violette.

"I think I made it mad."

Violette looked at him like he was the biggest dolt to have ever graced her life.

"You think?!"

At that moment, something flew out of the dust, colliding head-on with the Grippli Lord Marshall. The Warrior-King was holding on to him with both hands.

His enrage skill had regrown his hand instantly! This was bad.

The Lizardman's maw was rapidly closing on the Grippli's head, but he would not let himself die that easily. He rapidly jumped up, before sending both his feet into the Lizard's chest.

The amount of power the frogman's leg could exert was something that would instantly kill any player, even the best of tanks. But against his opponent, it merely freed itself from the grip.

It did some damage at the same time, but nothing to write home about. That was the moment the rest of the party finally made it to the throne room.

Athena was carrying a pale and sleepy Silent Light, and they were being accompanied by the Grippli General. This gave a little hope to Astaroth and Violette.

When the General saw the inside of the room, he rapidly grasped the situation and lunged at the Lizardman. Being in a two versus one barely contained the monster's strength.

Astaroth scanned the room, trying to find something that could help them. That's when his eyes crossed a pair of old bulging eyes behind the throne.

The old toad that was standing behind the throne beckoned him.

Astaroth was hesitant to go there, since he would much prefer to kill the enemy before having a chat with the king. But since the king had been hidden all along, and only now came out to beckon him, he thought it might be important.

He ran towards the back of the throne, staying hidden from the Warrior-King, since he was pretty sure it would immediately go for him if it saw him.

Once there, the old toad saluted him with its croaky, soft voice.

"Young one. I salute you."

"It is my pleasure, your highness. But is this the right time for a chat?"

"Indulge this old dying soul. I sense something quite rare, and I would like to give you something."

The old toad then pulled out a small bead. It had a dull coloration, and didn't seem to have much value.

It almost tempted Astaroth to bat it away, since this was hardly the time for meaningless gifts. But something caught his senses.

Slowly oozing off the orb was pure Aether. Aether of the same quality that Alantha Anulo, Kingdom Spirit of the Ash Elves, had exuded.

The king slowly deposited the orb in his hand before closing his fingers over it.

"Take this. It has been a long time since it has awakened. That is the reason we cannot defend our lands from these savages. Maybe you can awaken it."

After saying his piece, the king waved him away, before going back towards what looked like a back room. Astaroth looked down at his hand.

The orb was still exuding the same Aether, but once it had come into contact with his hand, it had started slowly pulsing. It was not an unfamiliar pulse, almost matching the speed of his heartbeat.

Astaroth explored the theory coming into his mind. He closed his eyes, clenching his hand tight on the small bead.

Then he started accumulating Aether again, this time pushing it into the orb. The pulsing got faster until he could feel a small presence inside the orb.

That's when he sent his mind into the orb. He felt it get sucked inside, like when he went into his own head to talk to White.

His body appeared inside an empty space, floating amongst what felt like water. He could breathe fine, but the thickness of the emptiness around him felt like he was swimming.

He started moving his mind around this space until it came into contact with something. Another presence.

"Hmm?"

"It's been ages since someone has awakened me from slumber. You are not even from my kind. What do you want, pointy-eared mortal?"

"I was asked to wake you up. Your kingdom is in danger."

"Is it? I don't sense any danger. It has been long since my kind had a kingdom. What little remains of the Grippli people barely worship me enough to keep me in existence."

"In that case, it would seem I am in a past version of your kingdom. A time when they couldn't summon you to help them."

Up to this point, Astaroth had been talking into the void, since he only sensed the presence. But that quickly changed, as a form made of mist and water coalesced together.

"You have piqued my curiosity, mortal. Speak, and I shall listen."