The arena announcer's voice echoed through the stadium, conveying the match's events over the messy mix of sounds. Serenity’s attempts to calm the crowd with music mixed in with the crowd's yelling in disdain for one another. Everyone wanted to blame everyone else for the invasion, and few were interested in the match.

“You aint the only one with wings.” Seraxus grinned. He settled back onto the ground in front of Aegis, pulling his black bat-like wings inward. “I just got mine, but, yo, you gotta admit I’m already pretty good with em, eh? Check it!” He extended the wings and flicked them in Darkshot’s direction, releasing a black wave of energy towards him.

Aegis dug his own wings into the ground, then used them to propel himself forward to intercept the wave diagonally, positioning himself between Darkshot and it.

You take 0 shadow damage.

Seraxus turned and swung his sword downward in the opposite direction, aiming at Rakkan and his echoes.

Aegis waved his right hand to create a guard, blocking it.

You take 0 shadow damage.

Seraxus paced in front of Aegis, scratching his chin curiously. “Dang. You’re fast for a defensive healer type. Most with your archetype are a bit clunky and slow. I guess the leather armor has somethin’ to do with it, eh? Not a bad build…”

Aegis could hear the sounds of his party members fighting - the blasts of music mixed in with Darkshot’s spells, the shadow-stepping sound of Lina as she jumped around Hajax, and the thuds and clanks of Rakkan and Gambit. He couldn’t turn to look at any of them, though, and relied on his interface to keep track of their resources.

They were taking hits, but nothing that aura of healing wasn’t going to be able to handle so far.

“Aite. Let’s have some fun with these bad boys, shall we?” Seraxus cheered to his massive audience. He winked in the direction of the livestreaming icon floating above him, extending his wings out wide.”Tryin’ to hit this guy is fun and all, but we’ve got some good music playin’. It’d be better if we made him dance, right?” Seraxus laughed. He waved his wings towards Lina and Rakkan while swinging his sword in Darkshot’s direction.

Three black waves of magical shadow energy flew from him in different directions. Aegis reacted quickly, blocking one with his shield and the other two with guard so that they couldn’t get far.

Immediately after he blocked them, Seraxus jumped into the air at the center of the arena and sent three more waves at them from different angles, around Aegis’ defenses.

Aegis reacted by jumping into the air as well to block the one nearest to him that was flying to Darkshot. He recast a guard in front of where Lina was fighting Hajax, and Gambit was fighting Rakkan.

“Doesn’t that attack have a cooldown? Or a mana cost?” Aegis grumbled in annoyance as his feet and Seraxus’ touched back onto the tiled floor of the arena.

“Hah!” Seraxus jeered. “Bro, I’m the Avatar of Hatred now. You think I gotta worry ‘bout shit like cooldowns? Ain't no way!” He laughed, followed by three more black waves being shot out from new angles. Aegis had to act quickly to prevent any from getting past his defenses, but he managed.

“Step, 1, 2, 3,” Seraxus taunted as he fired off three more, forcing Aegis to ‘dance’ to his attacks and block them again. The moment Aegis jumped and double-guarded, Seraxus started laughing at him hysterically. “Yo, he even synced up with Serenity’s music that time. He’s a good dancer.”

Despite the mockery, though, the crowd in the stadium remained attentive. Hae-won was beginning to cast the fight, her commentary explaining what was happening for the spectators in the stands. Serenity was playing her heart out, doing her best to affect Seraxus’ wings, but it wasn’t enough. Makaroth and Lilya, too, took note of this as they watched the scene unfold in silence.

“You realize, if I stop blocking your attacks, they’ll kill your party members too, right?” Aegis glared at him.

Seraxus shrugged nonchalantly. “Difference between me ‘n you is, I don’t need ‘em to win. You, on the other hand, can’t kill shit without your buddies' help,” Seraxus chuckled. “So ya see, I ain’t even gotta beat you and that silly shield. I just gotta kill your friends.” He shot more waves out at them, this time much more quickly.

Aegis managed to block all three, but Seraxus sped up and fired another set immediately after, then another, and another. Seraxus stopped talking in between his attacks and got serious. Aegis, too, had to move to keep up and ‘dance’ to his rhythm. It was manageable, at least.

That is, until there was a sudden, violent quaking that shook the entirety of the island of Tarolas. The shaking was too intense to have been caused by the destruction of a single island stone—Aegis could only theorize that two had been destroyed simultaneously as he lost his footing, stumbling out of the path of one black wave and mis-aiming his guards.

Combatant Darkshot has been defeated.

Combatant Rakkan has been defeated.

Lina was able to react quickly enough and Shadow Step over the one that was flying towards her.

“Aha, dang, that’s unlucky timing, bro!” Seraxus mocked as both Darkshot and Rakkan’s bodies faded from the arena, and Lina Shadow stepped beside Aegis.

She said nothing to him, but the two exchanged anxious looks before they moved closer together defensively. Hajax, Zuon, and Gambit converged on them from around the arena, moving closer to Seraxus to be at his side as he stood in the center with his floating weapons and spread wings.

It only took a few seconds after the announcer’s voice spoke, and the audience lost interest in the match. They once again began yelling at Makaroth and the other VGN players, blaming them for the state of things. They were angry not of the wings on Seraxus’ back, but the ongoing invasion that was taking place on the rest of the island.

With their yelling, shouting, and bickering getting louder and louder, Serenity’s music was drowned out once again.

Aegis took stock of all this. He eyed his opponents in the arena and the events transpiring in the stands around them.

“Tough luck, Mr. Harbinger of light. But looks like you ain't gonna be the hero that saves the day this time. There ain't no hero in my story.”

Aegis didn’t respond, but instead closed his eyes and took a deep breath to clear his head before opening them again. “I can’t protect you from them. Not forever. Dragging this out is pointless. It’ll only give them more time to figure out your movements and playstyle,” Aegis whispered to Lina.

“I think I can dodge them on my own. They are fast, but…”

“No. There’s no point. From this position, we can’t win. As long as he has those wings and can fire those wide, long-range shadow waves, this is unwinnable,” Aegis tilted his head down as he continued to think. At the same time, Seraxus and his party were busy speaking to his audience rather than going in for the kill on Aegis and Lina.

“So what do we do?”

Aegis hesitated, looking around for a solution desperately, but finding none, until his eyes landed on Makaroth in the stands. In that moment, Makaroth was looking back at him, and for a brief second, they were staring right at each other. Makaroth had a look of concern on his face, and something about it pissed Aegis the hell off.

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“Shadow steal voice amplification from Zuon and cast it on me.” Aegis turned to Lina.

Lina looked at him with confusion. “What is that going to…?”

“Trust me,” Aegis replied. “Once you’ve done it, let them take you out, don’t reveal to them any more of how you play. They may not look like it,” Aegis turned to their opponents, “But they’re smart. They’re watching every movement we make and are learning how we fight.”

“Are you sure?”

He nodded back. Lina threw a smoke bomb at Seraxus and his companions, then shadowstepped into it. Hajax removed the smoke and made Lina visible. In that time, she shot the dark tendrils out from the shadows they cast beneath themselves, ripping the skill out of Zuon.

She turned to face Aegis and shot the spell out towards him, casting voice amplification a second before Seraxus reached out and grabbed Lina by the arm, so that she couldn’t Shadowstep away.

“Ay yo Aegis, I got yer-”

Combatant Lina has forfeited.

This act alone gave pause to Seraxus and his group, and they all turned to look at Aegis. “What’d she steal?”

“Voice amplification,” Zuon replied. Aegis took a fighting stance as all four enemies postured to attack him, weapons and fists at the ready.

Hae-won sighed in frustration to herself, not being heard over the angry mob, for she noticed something that none of them had. “If they were only paying attention…”

It was four on one, but the last act of Lina put Seraxus and his party on edge.

“He’s plannin’ somethin',” Seraxus explained. “We all studied him, right? This guy’s a schemer. So whatever he’s plannin’, don’t let him do it. Kill him quick.” Seraxus ordered.

Voice Amplification(Shadow Steal)

Amplify the sound of your voice, increasing its range and volume so others can hear you clearly from farther away. Distance, clarity, and mana cost increase with each skill level.

Duration: 10 Minutes remaining

Source: Lina(Zuon)

Aegis eyed the buff on his peripheral vision. The attacks came at him. He dug his heels into the sand, flicked his wings out, lifted his shield and claw, and prepared. It started with Gambit casting his monk spirit realm around them, allowing him to jump behind Aegis and form his spectral arms to increase the amount of punches he could throw out.

Zuon fired off musical notes and Multishots, and a cascade of projectiles showered down around Aegis.

Then came Seraxus. His floating weapons, his wings, and his black blade struck at Aegis from the front.

Aegis canceled the aura of light and replaced it with an aura of beauty. The arena flooded with black mist emanating from the Sword of hatred, but Aegis’ wings of light were enough to keep it clear from his immediate surroundings.

The group cycled their attacks cautiously so as not to get caught up in Aegis’ Virabhadra attack accidentally. The more damage they dealt him, the more threatening it became.

Aegis didn’t use it. Minutes passed, and he held onto it. He focused everything he had on dodging or blocking the black sword, and deflecting as many of the other attacks as possible. He wasn’t able to get them all, but his high-level mithral gear was working overtime to reduce the damage.

Seraxus continuously maneuvered his black sword around Aegis by using switch with his floating weapons. Aegis made sure never to lose track of its position and always block the sword with his Star of Light shield, rather than try to rely on his wings. Like he did in the FFA match, he switched which limb he used to hold the shield. He rotated it from left arm to right arm, even sliding his leather shoes into the straps to kick the shield backward and brace for a strike. At this point, Aegis had spent so much time with a shield on his arm that it felt like another limb, and his use of it far surpassed any other skill or ability he had available to him.

“It’s just one fricken guy, just kill him,” Hajax shouted in annoyance at his companions.

The match went past the 5-minute mark, and Aegis continued to hold his ground despite the healing penalty that was imposed.

“What’s your plan? Bore us to death?” Seraxus sneered after another failed attack from his sword of hatred. Aegis didn’t respond.

Each time he blocked a strike from Seraxus’ sword with his shield, it released a blinding flash of light and shadow.

The bickering died down as eyes were drawn to the flashes of light. The broadcasters from other news broadcasts and the viewers of Seraxus and Aegis’ livestreams stopped yelling, pointing fingers, and complaining about who had caused the mess and how much they felt betrayed. Slowly, they watched Aegis.

For the first time since the sword’s inception, someone was standing up to Seraxus and holding their ground. And not just Seraxus, but his nearly full party of players. And he was doing it on his own, without taking any breaks or making any mistakes. Unlike with Feng’s illusions, it was much easier for the world to grasp what Aegis was doing because every single time Aegis blocked the sword, the blinding flash let them know he had done it.

The 4th island stone was destroyed. The quaking shook the stadium around them violently, but eventually settled. Seraxus’ party disengaged from Aegis to avoid potentially being hit by a Virabhadra, but it never came.

What followed the shaking was silence. It was then that Seraxus realized that, despite not doing anything offensively to Seraxus and his group, Aegis had gotten everyone’s attention.

“Good. Now you’re all finally listening,” Aegis spoke, and his voice amplified to carry not only through the stadium, but out of the arena and across a good section of Storm Top as well. The viewers of both his stream, Seraxus’, Makaroth’s, Feng’s, Serenity’s, and the many others could hear him loud and clear.

“Seraxus told the truth. But only part of it.” Aegis backed up from his opponents to get some distance. “Makaroth and I, we don’t get along at all. That’s why I renamed myself from Winter. I wanted to get to the top and crush him on my own, but he didn’t like that, not one bit. So you know what? He waited until I was logged out on my birthday, then ferried this idiot to my island to burn my city down,” Aegis pointed aggressively at Seraxus, who smiled and shrugged.

“Look at him, he's so proud of how he got to be Makaroth’s lapdog. I bet he threw you a nice treat for that, huh!?” Aegis shouted at Seraxus, knocking the smile off his face. “Then, get this, Makaroth staged it so he’d swoop in and save me from Seraxus. They arranged all that to put on a good show for you all. But no, no, no, that was not enough. There’s way more,” Aegis turned to see Makaroth looking down with wide eyes of disbelief at him, and a hint of confusion.

“Once they had this nice stage all set, they didn’t want to risk letting me show up to ruin their fun. So they hired the Shattered Pirates to take us out on my way back from the advanced quest. When they failed, the pirates took the blame for Makaroth. I don’t have proof, but I know he’s the one who hired them to attack us. But they failed, they didn’t stop me.”

“Next, he used his VGN buddies to fill up all tournament slots for the month leading up to the preliminaries, to prevent me and my party members from earning points to qualify. If anyone tried to sign up for one of those matches, you’ll know what I’m talking about. They were all booked because of him,” Aegis pointed at Makaroth.

“When I found a way around this, to earn points to qualify by participating in FFA brawls, they also discovered this workaround and flooded the signups for those as well, including hiring 13 mercenary players to team up against me and Finley, so that I couldn’t qualify. But that didn’t stop me.

“Guess what he did next? He hired the Shattered Pirates to attack Kalmoore and burn all of our airships to the ground, paying off some of the top guild leaders to participate in the attack. These same guild leaders defected to Tarolas and Savringard, leaking my secrets on where to find mithral. But he couldn’t have anticipated I had a dragon,” Aegis pointed up to Ysil’mareina soaring and roaring high in the sky above them. “So, that didn’t stop me either.

“And now I’m here. And it’s not because I have a grudge against this petty, sad excuse for a parent,” Aegis pointed at Makaroth once more. “It’s because of this guy,” He turned his finger and gazed back at Seraxus. “I don’t care about Daehyun’s island. I don’t care if he sinks Savringard, or Lanusk, or if Feng gets all the mithral swords he wants from Jensora. I don’t even care about Makaroth and this dumb show he tried to put on. The only thing I care about is getting revenge for what he did to Rakkan.

“But as long as he has those wings, I can’t beat him. Because of you absolute, selfish, brainless morons!” Aegis roared at the audience, shocking them with gasps and wide eyes. He didn’t just motion to the audience in the stands; he also motioned to his livestream viewers. “You’re all getting pissy, spreading hatred, and giving this guy wings. LIKE ANY OF YOU HAVE A RIGHT TO BE PISSED OFF. I’M THE ONLY ONE HERE WHO SHOULD BE PISSED OFF. So please do me a favor, and shut the hell up. If you can’t not be angry, then log out of the game world and watch from outside the simulation, so you stop feeding him power for his wings. I don’t care what island you’re on, you’re all making him stronger for shit that has nothing to do with you. All of this hatred and anger swirling around does not belong to you. It’s mine.” Aegis finished, breathing heavily after having released his true feelings.

There was a moment of silence as everyone looked at him, dumbfounded, which only annoyed him further. “Did I stutter? I said log your dumbasses out of the game. That means you guys, and you guys. All of you. Unless, of course, you want all your islands to sink into the abyss?”

This time, he got a reaction.

Countless players who were standing in the audience began logging out. And it didn’t stop there—those who were watching the match unfold from their livestream viewers across the entire Shattered World started to log out from Kalmoore, to Lanusk, to Savringard, and many others.

All of those who were feeding negative emotions into Seraxus’ sword began to leave, and as they did, the glistening ebony wings lost their shine. The black mist emanating from the sword lessened, but it didn’t stop completely.

“Hah. That was your scheme? Yell at everyone? That ain’t gonna make you win this match, bro,” Seraxus mocked as he started stomping towards Aegis once more, sword at the ready.

“I don't need to.” Aegis shook his head dismissively. “You need to win every match from now on,” Aegis turned to glare at Seraxus with the most aggressive eyes he could muster. “I only need to win one.”

Combatant Aegis has forfeited.