“FIRE THE SHOTS!”

A command echoed beyond the torrential rain, followed by the sound of explosions. The resounding booms continued every second, cannons firing at the monster beyond the mist.

This was the Tower. A building stretching to the sky, a hellscape filled with monsters on every floor.

And those who enter its challenges are called Players.

A draconic roar broke through the explosions, sending shockwaves across the ocean, though the cannonballs had landed on their target, it didn’t seem as if it were fazed.

Atop one grand vessel stood two figures. One held a noble and upright stance, a sword in their hand, clutching onto the pommel for dear life. With dread building in their voice, they turned to the other.

“We can’t continue on like this. The Azure Lord has barely suffered damage and the magic cannons can only do so much.”

Without even turning their head, the latter figure rejected the notion.

“No, we can keep going.”

Their gaze, a brilliant golden, continued to stare off towards that giant figure. The winding, serpentine silhouette of The Azure Lord could barely be made out through the wild wind and violent tempest, a silhouette so giant and dangerous even if it were thousands of leagues away.

“Are you insane!?”

Those golden eyes closed, no longer listening to the other’s cries. Perhaps they were, but Fate would be on the shoulders of mankind just as it had always been.

It dived forward, set to crush the ship. Leaving a trail of starlight, the golden eyed individual leapt towards the dragon’s attack.

At the moment of impact, a barrier of various constellations manifested above the ship, an ephemeral spectacle. Shockwaves were reflected from the great force as the starry barrier shattered, but it was enough to protect the ship from the charge. Though while The Azure Lord had only staggered back, the other side was quickly plummeting towards the ocean.

“STARSEEKER!”

A cry of alarm came from the deck, yelling for rescue.

The ship was already much too far to rescue them from the crashing waves. It would be too late, that insane golden-eyed individual would sink into the depths, swallowed by the ocean’s embrace.

However, Fate hadn’t given up on humanity yet.

A gleaming light crashed down from the skies, a cold blast of air hit just as quickly. That light quickly landed onto the ocean’s surface.

Once it had dimmed, it revealed a new figure, holding Starseeker close to themselves with their right arm, the other hand wielding a brilliant white staff. Atop the surface was a sheet of pure white ice where they stood, their stance regal and imposing. The rain around the two of them had turned to shards of ice.

It was if time had frozen.

Starseeker opened their golden eyes.

“…Erstwhile King of Ice.”

Their saviour only nodded in acknowledgement, holding Starseeker close to their side as they lifted that magnificent staff. Its tip glowed bright, lighting up like a beacon in the storm. At that moment, seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, the various cheers of mankind resounded from that fleet of ships. Their spark reignited, continuing to fight. The outcome would determine humanity’s place in this hellscape, it was a milestone that they would conquer.

The sound of firing cannons echoed alongside the torrential rain.

Erstwhile King of Ice briefly glanced at Starseeker, resting on the sheet of ice beneath him.

“You must truly be insane, Starseeker.”

“I am.”

He didn’t know whether to laugh at Starseeker’s response or not. Those half-lidded golden eyes were in a constant dream, in exchange for the ability to peer into the future, perhaps insanity had come with that cursed deal he made.

Erstwhile King of Ice stared up at the monster before them.

“This is the first time every nation in the world has gathered, the strongest Players are all present now.”

He turned towards the ships, raising his staff. The ice sheet beneath his feet started to expand, becoming an arena for all of mankind.

“PLAYERS!”

As the collective turned towards his voice and the growing ice sheet, Erstwhile King of Ice started the true battle against The Azure Lord.

“EVERYONE FORWARD!”

The song of battlecries fought against the endless tempest, as swordsmen and other close combat fighters leapt from their posts on their ships onto the ice sheet. Soon, the clang of metal against draconic scales joined the cacophony, turning the tides against the enemy.

Starseeker returned to his place on the ship, watching as the battle unfolded. It was a grand waltz in a chaotic ballroom, with the sounds of their weapons as the music. In a coordinated dance, Players would strike the dragon’s body, while magical cannons assaulted the head. Slowly and surely, they were pushing that monster back, they were damaging it with every strike.

“Guild Leader, this Starseeker predicts the outcome of this battle as victorious.”

“Of course, of course.”

The guild leader’s hand trembled on the pommel of their sword, even with their steadfast reply. There was no denying how the people fought, as the knights and protectors of humanity.

Erstwhile King of Ice stood on the ice sheet, gazing up at the giant dragon’s body. He extends a hand to Starseeker. The guild leader shakes his head, but Starseeker ignores his opinion and leaps down from his position, placing a gloved hand in another.

In those next moments, the two danced in their own battle against the Azure Lord. Starseeker maintained defense while Erstwhile King of Ice fought on the offense, the two synchronised perfectly with the other’s movement. For someone who had fought alone for so many years, Erstwhile King of Ice flowed naturally when fighting with someone else. It was unmistakable that somehow, the two had a deep bond with each other, that they were something more than just comrades fighting the same war.

On the deck, another Player ran up to the guild leader.

“Guild Leader, sir! The Spiritclad are sensing something dangerous incom-”

“Then we must keep on the defensive for now, order everyone to retreat back onto the ships.”

“R-Right away, sir!”

An order was yelled out to retreat again, breaking through the extreme storm with a clear bellow. The Players slowly returned to the ships. Atop the deck, they started to wonder what could’ve caused the sudden change when one particularly sharp-eyed warrior caught sight of it. They called for everyone they could, before pointing at where the Azure Lord stood atop the water. Streaks of Mana ran across the sky, gathering at the tip of the dragon’s mouth. The phenomenon appeared much like a pearl of bright light, glowing as its only warning signal above the dark clouds and past the endless rain.

It all felt like an illusion right then and there, as the Azure Lord fired a beam of pure condensed Mana. The waters surged as it blasted the left parts of the block of ice, the remaining shards flying into the air within the ensuing explosion. It had destroyed one part of the arena, and was already readying to destroy the next. The guild leader yelled out in fear.

“STARSEEKER! You-I, we’re going to lose this battle at this rate, what is happening!?”

Starseeker remained silent. He looked at Erstwhile King of Ice with golden eyes.

“We are counting on you.”

The Sorcerer nodded his head, leaping towards the dragon’s head. Mana condensed at his feet, crystallising into ice, giving him a small platform to continue climbing his way towards the Azure Lord. Seeing this, the guild leader let out a sigh of relief and turned to another Player.

“Ready the cannons, we’ll follow his lead.”

As the other players began to ready the magic cannons, Starseeker watched on above the waves. At last, Erstwhile King of Ice had made it to the top, diving to avoid the second mana beam that the Azure Lord had fired. Now, it had turned to the final bit of the ice platform, where Starseeker stood. Once again, streaks of Mana gathered at its mouth, until Erstwhile King of Ice dived forward, shattering the condensed mana and reabsorbing it as his own. His staff glowed as it consumed the stray bits of mana still floating in the air, turning those into new attacks.

Seeing the interrupted and incapacitated beast, the guild leader ordered for the cannons to fire, believing that now was the perfect time to strike. However, they hadn’t realised that someone else would’ve gotten caught in the ensuing explosion.

Erstwhile King of Ice only had a second to avoid it. A single second would’ve been enough.

But the shimmering of something caught his eye, distracting him at the very last moment. Erstwhile King of Ice dived to investigate the odd shine coming from within the dragon’s mouth, when he took a ball of pure, raw magic point blank.

He fell.

Erstwhile King of Ice plunged into the depths of the deadly ocean.