The sky above Island Picu raged with lightning. The forest swarmed with Souldeath soldiers. However, there was one place where they didn't go yet—the sharp, deadly mountain.
At the bottom of the mountain, sharp, knife-like boulders poked through the earth, strewn across the ground. No one dared to climb the mountain because it seemed to be suicide.
However, the Dark Kings currently ventured near the mountain, thinking about climbing.
The helicopters flew across the island, and warships surrounded it.
Inside the mountain, in a secret room…
''…'' With flickering light, Arthur moved the lightbulb to shine on the broken-looking headset. The color white had peeled off, making it look rusty.
It was the first-ever Mythical VR Helmet, the prototype version.
As time went by, the Mythical VR Helmet started rusting and in the end, broke apart.
For a day now, Arthur tried fixing it. Without the helmet, his stay on the island Picu would be worthless.
With the screwdriver in hand, he removed the screws and took a peek inside the headset, filled with wires and electric components.
''Hmm… one of the wires is loose, probably causing the headset to disconnect.'' After removing the rest of the screws, the headpiece tumbled off and landed on the desk. Placing the screwdriver in his mouth, he grabbed the unsafe wire and yanked it slightly.
As he expected, the wire severed from the components.
Shaking his head, Arthur threw the broken wire off and rummaged through drawers. There were several other viable wire options, but he took one of the oldest ones that didn't look that safe. However, he felt confident as he started connecting it to the headgear.
Then, as the wire let out crackling sounds, it seemed to have connected. However, Arthur's job wasn't done here. Yesterday, he fixed several other wires, but most of the components seemed corrupted.
Therefore, he again used the screwdriver, removed the components, and replaced them with new ones.
After checking the rest of it, everything seemed alright. Then, after connecting the headpiece back to the headset, he tried pressing the button, hoping it worked.
Like magic, the visor started beeping, showing rows of words. However, the headset was unnecessarily loud.
''Still as loud as ever…'' Arthur murmured. It was the biggest problem with the prototype— loudness. Thus, the following products focused on minimizing sound.
''It works…'' said Arthur as he placed it back on the desk. Then, he flipped open the slightly broken laptop and flinched as the screen showed an uncommon message. However, the screen flashed and crackled like it was on near breaking point.
[Tournament… of… Cha…]
[Begin…]
Before the laptop exploded, he closed it and leaned against the chair, tapping his foot against the floor.
''It had begun… I wonder how they are doing…''
…
''What happened here?'' Alice asked as she slowly stepped over burnt tree barks and scorched earth.
Luna wondered that too. The scene was like from apocalypse movie she watched with Isaac a few months ago.
The scent was stuffy, making everyone frown uncomfortably.
Kneeling on the ground, Luna grabbed a handful of ash and closed her eyes. Then, she pursed her lips and inhaled softly out.
''Whooo…'' The ash flew out of her grasp. However, as it floated aimlessly in the air, a path started appearing.
Alice leaned against her priestess cane, amazed at Luna's magical abilities. The ash she blew acted as some sort of Guard.
It was one of her Unique Spells, created solely by herself. The ash would act as a 'person' that was almost like a witness to the horrible things that happened in the forest.
The core of the ash came from the burnt trees, and some of those trees must have seen what happened. Even though they were dead back then, with Luna's magic, they were always 'alive'.
Luna softly opened her eyes. She heard the 'voices' of the floating ash. They were telling her to follow them.
''Let's go.'' She said and picked up her pace.
''Right!'' Alice followed after with the cane lightly tapping against the charred ground.
The ashes softly floated across the air before landing on the ground. They were almost unnoticeable in the scorched ground. However, Luna could feel their presence.
''It happened here,'' Luna said and touched the still-hot ground.
''Wow.'' Alice whistled as she looked around. Not far away, there was supposed to be a medium-sized mountain, but now a huge chunk of it had fallen to the ground.
''Something… is hidden in the ground.'' Opening her cloudy eyes, Luna pulled out her wand and pointed it at the ground.
Alice pointed the cane at the ground, ready to release some of her Faith Magic.
The tip of the wand shone, breaking the ground slightly apart. As if the ground was a bar of chocolate, it cracked, revealing a world of the abyss beneath.
''…'' Luna felt a strange feeling of palpation in her heart like something was calling out to her. Slowly, she reached her arm into the dark abyss, nearly falling.
''Luna?'' Alice frowned and soon realized that something was wrong. Her eyes widened in panic, and she stretched her hand forth, but too late.
Luna's figure softly fell through the hole, going deep into the abyss.
''Luna!'' Running next to the hole, Alice shouted till her voice shook. However, as soon as she glimpsed the dark abyss, her motions turned stiff. With erratic breathing, she took another step forward and fell into the dark abyss.
…
''Oww…'' Rubbing her aching butt, Luna slowly sat up, opening her foggy eyes. Before even taking a clearer look, her eyes widened in shock. She sat on top of a factory building, the sky covered by ashen clouds, and the air smelled terrible.
''W-Where am I?'' Looking around, the whole world seemed quiet. There was nothing there.
[Welcome to Realm of Witches!]
''Realm… of Witches?'' Murmuring, she slowly stood up. As her blue eyes gazed to the horizon, there was no one in sight. The Realm was made for Witches, and since there were only two Witches in existence, Luna and Hecate… she happened to be currently the only one in the world!
[Congratulations!]
[You Passed First Stage!]
[Second Stage - Team-Up!]
[The Second Stage of Tournament of Champions Shall Begin!]
[Good Luck, Night!]
