MMORPG : Ancient WORLD
Chapter 502 - 502: Consequences (III)

In a grand chamber bathed in silvery moonlight, a colossal arched opening in the ceiling revealed the full moon's radiant glow, shimmering like a diamond amidst a tapestry of stars.

The room exuded an ambiance of quiet grandeur, an elegant serenity that contrasted with the formidable decor, which featured ornate towering pillars adorning both sides, supporting the ceiling with their grand presence.

At least, it once had.

Now, the chamber lay in ruins, and the towering pillars, once majestic and unyielding, were shattered and scattered across the floor, and the echoes of destruction lingered in the air.

The ceiling, once a testament to architectural mastery, was mostly destroyed, with sections of it hanging like chandeliers, but the difference was that they were nothing but jagged remnants of stone and splintered ores.

Yet, amidst the desolation, one thing remained untouched, and that was the glorious throne.

The magnificent creation of ebony and gold gleamed under the tender caress of the moon's silver rays, as it stood at the back of the chamber, a lone sentinel of the power that once thrived here.

Ahrimon could be seen seated atop it, his eyes, dark as the abyss, making it hard to discern what emotions they held. His mind, however, was far from serene.

It was a cacophony of voices, each different yet an evil aspect of his personality in nature, each suggesting something different, with a few even mocking him and others cursing his enemies.

'I was so close,'

'Victory was within my grasp, and my freedom was at my doorstep, yet it was snatched away by that loathsome bastard,' Ahrimon thought, a bitter edge to his internal monologue.

"You cannot kill him because he is needed for the ascension," A hissing voice, serpentine and sly, different from Ahrimon's own internal voice, whispered.

"What if we cannot kill him? We need to punish him," Another voice, gruff and impatient, countered.

"Forget about your sophisticated plans and just plunge the world into death and despair and let our armies grow, because only overwhelming violence and strength is the answer to all problems," A third voice chimed in, this one dripping with bloodlust.

"Yes, it is a good choice. No, the only choice, because now that the Chaos Queen is free, uncontrolled chaos will only help her grow stronger."

"She is childish and innocent now, but once her powers grow, she will become her true self and eventually come to us," The second voice agreed, accompanying the thought with venomous laughter.

"But what about that little shit? We know we can't kill him, but we need to teach him a lesson," A fourth voice interjected, filled with boiling anger and hatred.

"Burn his world down. Start a war among his world's countries and tell him he is responsible for their deaths," Another voice roared, its ferocity drowning out the other thoughts with its sheer intensity.

"No, what if it breaks him? We cannot wait for another ruler to be born."

"Yes, this is not the correct option, and with this minor setback, we cannot take an unnecessary risk when everything has gone as planned."

"We cannot ruin it all in a moment of anger," A calmer, more strategic voice cautioned.

"So, are we going to let him off the hook just like that?" The angry voice demanded.

"NO, he will pay with the lives of people close to him," Ahrimon's voice cut through the din, boiling with rage.

"Darrien and Margaret are his guardians and teachers, right? Killing them would be a good start, but even better, let's welcome him back from the ancestral world with a world engulfed in chaos and death," A meek, snickering voice added, and the others agreed.

Ahrimon's eyes blazed with malevolent darkness as he rose from the throne and looked toward the clear, star-filled sky, with the moonlight casting an eerie glow on his imposing figure.

"Enigma, you insufferable bitch," Ahrimon spat, his voice a venomous snarl that reverberated through the chamber.

"You think you can stop me? You think your petty tricks will hold any power over me this time?"

"You will watch as I ascend, as I seize the power that is rightfully mine, and every barrier you've placed in my path will crumble."

"And when I stand victorious when the world lies at my feet, you will be the first to feel my wrath." Ahrimon's fists clenched at his sides, his nails digging into his palms, drawing blood.

Ahrimon's laughter, dark and mirthless, filled the chamber. With a final, scornful glance at the moon and night sky, he returned to his throne, his mind already plotting the next steps of his dark conquest.

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In a dark throne room of exquisite beauty and grandeur, a woman of unrivaled beauty sat on a grand throne adorned in a dress of flowing darkness. Her serene eyes, which resembled every shifting layer of colors, stared at a wide screen suspended in the air.

To her right, a man in a black and white tuxedo stood, watching a group of individuals appear out of thin air above the vast expanse of the dark ocean.

'These two siblings are not lucky, but rather, they are two trouble magnets,' Zero thought, as he sighed in relief, seeing the winged entity and the various creatures vanish into the twisting space that cloaked them like a blanket.

"Now that Ahrimon knows of her existence, he will set the world ablaze to find her, and it would be your responsibility to keep her hidden and safe," Lady Enigma said in her cold, emotionless voice, and Zero simply bowed in response.

"Do you need me to deal with this situation," Zero asked, seeing Leviathan return to the real space with a lost look.

"Ahrimon will never truly harm Alex, so let's wait and watch," Lady Enigma replied, her eyes not missing a moment of the ongoing events.

"I was expecting him to be more ruthless, but it seems like he would be delaying his plan to start the war,"

"Alex, staying stuck in the Kanut wasteland, with his life hanging in the balance without the protection of his guardian, would serve as a good experience and prepare him for the Ancestral realm," Lady Enigma said after seeing Leviathan stripping Alex of armor and weapons, before taking him to the remote island.

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After experiencing a world of pain at the hands of Leviathan and getting familiar with his unknown surroundings, Alex returned to the real world to collect his thoughts and get comfortable with his new situation.

All his class-specific skills were gone, and while he knew their inner workings, Alex needed to put in a great deal of effort to learn and execute them with the same level of efficiency that he could before.

Leviathan had taken away all his items except the legacy sword and the Ancient Red gem, including his six knives of doom, armor, ring, and Nexus bracelet, which was responsible for completing the red gem.

The skills that Leviathan could not erase were sealed, and that included everything from Umbris's time skills to the skills gained from his physics or the unique skills he had as the Ruler.

So, at the moment, Alex just had his base stats that were deteriorating at a rapid pace, his sword, and a very limited version of chaos and darkness manipulation.

But while he was stuck in an unknown part of the world where even his guardians might fail to find him, all hope was not lost.

"Brother, so you are stuck on an island in some unknown area of the world, with all your skills sealed or erased completely, your weapon and armor taken away, and you lose ten levels every day."

"If your level reaches zero, your avatar will be erased, and while surviving by leveling up is your only option, it won't be easy considering you're stuck on an island with powerful creatures, and your strength is very limited."

"And you are telling me that Zero says your avatar is not under the threat of getting erased," Andrei said, repeating the sum of what he had heard from Alex, surprise written all over his face.

"I understand you being stuck on the island because your teleportation skill is sealed, but why the hell is Zero telling you that your avatar is not at risk of getting erased,"

"I would like to believe it's just a false curse or something similar, but you can't simply test it by dying or waiting to see if it would do the end job,"

"My brain hurts just thinking about your problems," Andrei said, holding his head with both hands and displaying a deep frown.

Alex leaned back in his seat, his eyes fixed on the entrance as he waited for Venedikt to arrive. Seeing Alex not engaging in conversation, Andrei kept his head down with a lost expression.

"How did the guardians react to the news?" Alex asked, seeing Venedikt finally arrive after a few minutes of waiting.

"He was pissed, and your friendly guy even threatened to erase me and the organization if I dared to hold back any information that could help save you," Venedikt replied with a wary smile as he took his seat.

"I told Varon about your location, but since the island is in an unexplored area and the system would not give you its location nor the direction of the public world, finding you would take quite some time and luck,"

The world map available to players displayed only the locations of publicly known continents, specifically the seven main continents and the recently added Terbis Continent.

Although the domain was publicly known, it was not shown on the map, and when players used the map within the domain, they saw no surrounding areas, and it was the same for Alex on the unknown island.

"Brother, You are going to find a way out of this mess," Venedikt said, and Alex nodded with a smile.

While Alex was stuck in an unknown part of the world where even his guardians might fail to find him, all hope was not lost, but he could not just share the good news.

It was true that Alex was affected by a curse that made him lose ten levels each day, and his next death could be his last, but he also had the cure to remove it, which was the reason why Zero refused to help him because he had the means to save himself.

While Zero vowed to help a player whose life was in danger of a permanent demise, he would only help if the player had no means to save himself, which was not true in Alex's case.

The reward for the quest that had put Alex in this messed-up situation was the Nirvana Elixir, and if he consumed it, not only would the curse be lifted, but all of his skills would also be unlocked, giving him the way to return to the domain.

But Alex was not doing it because Lady Enigma had informed him that he was being watched by Leviathan, and if he consumed the potion, he would be dead before he gained access to his skills.

The only way for him to survive was to find the portal to the Ancestral realm, which would appear on the island in four or so weeks and only consume the potion after entering it.

Alex believed that once he had used all his means to save himself and he was still in danger, Zero would save him, but he was not mad enough not to accept the words of Lady Enigma and test his luck.

Alex did not share these details with his brothers or guardians because if somehow it got out to the demons and Leviathan came for him, he would be in a world of trouble and that was last thing he wanted in his current situation.

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