New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live

"All of you need to lay one hand on me for this to work. You will feel a discomfort, as I reach into your minds to tether them. This is a necessary step. Please don't resist it. Once I'm done tethering all of you, you will feel vertigo, as I pull your minds into mine and theirs."

Astaroth was familiar with this process. He had gone through something similar when he helped Kloud get rid of his possessing demon.

As everyone lay their hands on the Elf, Astaroth stared at him a while, before doing the same. He whispered as he got closer, just loud enough for only the mage to hear.

"If you try anything funny, I will tear your soul apart and feed it to my demons."

But the mage barely had time to react, as he was already channelling his spell.

His eyes widened at the threat before they went white.

As they did, the barrier covering the ceiling vanished. Violette looked up in horror.

But the next moment, the six dragons that had been circling the sky over the room all froze before plummeting to the ground.

Violette heard six dull thumps from far away and knew they were temporarily out of commission. But there was still the issue of the portal.

The Imps had piled up on the thick layer of ice blocking their way, carving into it with abandon. Violette had to drop her spell if she wanted them to deal with it.

But with how things stood, if she dropped the spell,  the imps would tumble into the room, becoming a big problem instantly.

She worked her mind overtime, trying to find a solution. But Peaceful Grove tapped her shoulder.

"I think I know what's troubling you. I have a solution."

Violette smiled at her.

"Please. Anything that works, I'll take."

"I can conjure a storm with high winds. With enough time to concentrate, I could bring the winds from the storm into the room and push them against the portal. This would push the monsters back."

"How much time do you need?" Violette asked, excited to see this.

Grove smiled at the little girl's visible excitement.

"About a minute? Can you hold the barrier for that long?"

Violette smirked.

"A minute? I can hold this barrier forever. I think."

She focused on the ice block she was holding up, and it suddenly thickened by a foot, pushing into the portal, and by default pushing the imps back with it.

Seeing this, Peaceful Grove knew she could concentrate on her spell safely.

Raising her eyes to the sky, they crackled with blue arcs of lightning. The black sky, which was dotted with stars, suddenly covered up.

Dark clouds formed over the city, thick with apparent rain, and crackling with lightning. Rain started drizzling on other parts of the city, quickly becoming a torrential pour.

The winds picked up speed, making even the giant tree they were in sway. A small sense of unease washed over the other players, as the floor they were on swayed, like standing on a boat in troubled waters.

Chronos leaned over on a desk near him, having no sea legs whatsoever. His stomach turned a bit, as he became queasy.

The branches over their head, which were still visible through the open ceiling, swayed madly. Strangely, no rain fell in the room.

An enchantment on the ceiling made it so it streaked away from the opening as it fell, leaving the open room completely dry. It made for a strange feeling, as the wind still conveyed itself in the room, the papers everywhere starting to flutter.

Book pages rustled, papers flew, and hair was made a mess.

For a straight minute, the storm picked up, becoming almost a cyclone, as the city was assaulted by the strongest winds and rain it had ever experienced. Until Grove lowered her chin, eyes still crackling with lightning, and she nodded her head once.

With a swirl of her hands over her head, followed by a second, and a third, her allies saw the wind funnel, suddenly worried they would be part of a tornado touching ground. But before forming a complete funnel, Grove opened her arms, pointing at the portal.

"Now!" she shouted.

The wind whistled into the room, deafening for the people in it. Violette dropped her spell and hurriedly grabbed onto a piece of furniture. During this phenomenon, the group of seven individuals in the center of the room were unmoved, like some sort of mystical protection saved them from the shearing winds.

But the rest of the room wasn't so lucky.

Jaxx, feeling the push of the winds getting stronger, and seeing Twinxie, whose compact form was already struggling to remain on her feet, suddenly lift from the ground, and reacted without thinking.

He jumped forward, grabbing the little girl, wrapping his arms around her, covering most of her form as they flew into the portal. The surrounding temperature changed as he passed through the portal, and he knew danger was imminent.

Twinxie, who was swept off her feet, suddenly felt something slam into her, as two massive arms cradled her. And immediately after, as the surroundings became unbearably hotter, the arms started thickening and rippling in strength.

They tumbled onto the red sand-like ground of the demon plane, Jaxx taking damage to cover her petite body. But his legacy cancelled the brunt of it, making him shrug off the rest like it was nothing.

But they had to react, and fast.

Jumping to his feet, he released Twinxie, stepping before her, as he glanced around.

And what he saw was worrying.

Hundreds upon hundreds of red-skinned, small-horned demons, all looking at them like they were food. Their strident cackling was grating to the ears as they slowly loomed closer.

"Stay behind me, Twinxie. Get to the portal, if you can," Jaxx said, feeling their chances were slim to survive if they stayed there.

But he wouldn't let her die. Not after he promised he would rise to Phoenix's challenge.

But Twinxie huffed.

"To hell with this. These little things don't scare me. And their dirty world messed up my robes!" she fumed.

"Pulvi, rise! Show them what the meaning of stuck between a rock and a hard place means!" she shrieked, completely raging.

Jaxx felt the ground shake under his feet.

"What the fuck?"