Chapter 309: Chapter 309; Gaming 2
He slams his staff down, conjuring a shimmering barrier that shields the party from the first blast of lightning.
Twilight (Avatar: Shadow Dancer, twin daggers, black feathered cloak): vanishes in a swirl of smoke and reappears on the serpent’s back...
"I will cut it before it coils the bridge, hold it steady!"
Zhihao: roars, swinging his halberd in a wide arc, hooking the serpent’s body against the bridge...
"Got it pinned! Now, strike!"
Tang Fei jumped onto the serpent, blades glowing, and shouted...
"Together!"
Her swords slice through the creature’s scales while Twilight drives her daggers into its neck. With a final coordinated strike, the serpent explodes into sparks, falling into the storm below. The bridge stabilizes.
---
Qin Xinyu: exhales, staff dimming, "One down. But I sense more ahead."
As they advance, the wind grows harsher. The bridges twist into spirals and loops, forcing them to leap and climb. Suddenly, two Sky Serpents emerge, one above and one below.
Tang Fei: voice sharp..
"Split up! Zhihao, with me on the upper one. Twilight, cover Qin Xinyu and take the lower serpent!"
Zhihao: grinning...
"Finally, some fun!"
He leaps high, halberd spinning, clashing with the upper serpent midair. Sparks explode as lightning crackles against his weapon.
Twilight: slides across the bridge with inhuman speed, daggers flashing...
"Silver Sage, boost me!"
Qin Xinyu: chants, her staff flaring bright..
"Shadow steps, quicken!"
Twilight’s body blurs as she darts forward, stabbing the lower serpent in a flurry of strikes before vaulting onto its back.
The battle rages, the bridges twist violently as both serpents writhe, and lightning strikes, threatening to collapse the paths beneath them.
Tang Fei: parrying strikes, shouts... "Zhihao, cut its wings!"
Zhihao: laughs, bringing his halberd down in a devastating cleave... "With pleasure!"
The upper serpent screams, spiraling down into the storm. Twilight simultaneously slashes the lower one’s head off, sending it tumbling into darkness.
[Game Narrator Voice-over]:
"Stage Clear: Serpent Guardians Defeated. Proceed to the Final Island."
The players arrive at the last storm island. A colossal Guardian Harpy, wings dark as thunderclouds, rises from the peak. Lightning dances across her talons as her shriek rattles the bridges behind them.
Qin Xinyu: eyes wide, "She will try to blow us off the island. Stay grounded!"
Harpy Guardian: shrieks, summoning a hurricane gust that sends debris flying.
Tang Fei: plants her swords into the ground, anchoring herself...
"Brace! Zhihao, lock her down!"
Zhihao: charges forward, planting his halberd like a spear to pin her foot
"Got her!"
Twilight: flits through the wind, circling the harpy’s wings, "On it, taking the feathers!"
She slashes at the harpy’s wing joints, forcing it lower. Qin Xinyu raises her staff, summoning glowing chains of light that bind the monster’s wings.
Tang Fei: launches herself upward with a final leap, crossing blades into an X-shaped strike.. "For the Sky Realm, fall!"
Her swords blaze, cutting through the Harpy’s chest. The beast shrieks, bursting into a storm of light and feathers. The skies are clear, the storm fades.
[Game Narrator Voice-over]:
"Level 2: Storm Bridges Complete. Prepare for Level 3: Abyss Vault."
Zhihao: panting, and laughing
"That’s more like it! If this is only Level 2, I can’t wait for what’s next."
Twilight: grins, flipping a dagger
"Careful what you wish for."
Tang Fei: smiles faintly, though her eyes gleam with determination... "We made it. But the real fight is just beginning."
Level 3: Abyss Vault
[Scene opens in the game world]
The four players descend into a massive cavern beneath the storm bridges. The air is heavy, echoing with the distant rumble of unseen currents.
Black crystal walls glisten with faint, eerie light. Below them, a bottomless abyss stretches endlessly. Carved into the cliffside is an ancient vault sealed by colossal serpent statues.
Tang Fei (The Luminary): her avatar’s wings glow faintly in the darkness "This place feels... cursed. The abyss is trying to pull us in."
Twilight (The Shadowblade): steps lightly across a jagged ledge, voice low "The Vault of the Abyss. Legends say it’s where fallen sky-warriors lost their souls. Don’t look down, or the abyss will claim your gaze."
Qin Xinyu (The Oracle): staff hums with blue light "The door won’t open without a key. And the key... is guarded by shades."
Zhihao (The Stormrider): tightens his gauntlets, smirking "Then let’s smash some shades. I have been itching for a real fight."
Battle Phase 1: The Shade Swarm..
The ground trembles. From the abyss, spectral warriors climb the walls, their forms shifting like smoke and lightning.
Tang Fei: "Stay close! Their touch drains life." She unleashes a radiant wave, blasting three shades back into the abyss
Zhihao: leaps into the air, lightning sparking off his fists "Storm Hammer!" he dives down, smashing into a cluster of shades, the impact crackling across the cavern floor
Twilight: vanishes into shadows, reappears behind a shade, slicing its form apart with twin daggers "One less to haunt us."
Qin Xinyu: raises her staff "Barrier of Aegis!" A shimmering dome shields the group as claws rake across, sparks flying against the protective ward
Battle Phase 2: Abyss Serpent Guardian..
The statues shudder, then come alive. Two colossal abyss serpents uncoil from the vault gate, their scales black as void, eyes glowing blood-red.
Tang Fei: gritting her teeth "Two of them?! We will be torn apart."
Zhihao: grins "Perfect odds." charges forward, catching one serpent by the jaw, forcing it back with sheer storm energy
Twilight: scales the wall, leaping onto the serpent’s head "I will blind it." drives a dagger into its glowing eye, the beast hissing and thrashing violently
Qin Xinyu: chants, eyes glowing "Chains of Light, bind!" Ethereal chains erupt from the abyss walls, coiling around the serpents to slow their movements
Tang Fei: flies upward, gathering radiant energy between her palms "Solar Spear!" She hurls a massive beam that pierces the chest of one serpent, leaving it writhing
The ground cracks from their struggle, chunks of rock tumbling into the abyss.
Final Phase: The Vault Key
The serpents collapse, dissolving into smoke. Between their fading forms, a glowing relic hovers, a black crystal key. But as Tang Fei reaches for it, a dark phantom emerges from the abyss, a towering armored knight with no face.