Fallen Fate Online

Whoooooooooooooooosh.

The birds circled above them like ravenous hawks for some time, choosing their target. However, as soon as they smelled blood emanating from Zayne's sword, their eyes filled with bloodthirst and they all dived down, straight for him.

"They're attacking! Get ready!" Roland exclaimed as he rushed forward, about to face the birds first.

"Rark! Rark! Rark!" The birds roared menacingly, staring intently at Roland.

"Hah, I can easily handle a few birds!" Roland smirked, swinging his sword vertically as his blade almost reached his enemy.

Whooooooooooosh.

Suddenly the bird flapped its wings, dodging the attack and flying past Roland as well as the others. Then Roland realized what a mistake he had made, for now, Rina was left defenseless.

'I screwed up! If they attack Rina, she can't defend herself!' Roland turned around sharply trying to rectify the situation, but for a moment he stopped as for some unknown reason all the birds headed toward Zayne.

"What the hell...?" Zayne muttered in a confusion, then he tried to defend himself, but he missed just like Roland.

'Shit! There are too many of them! I don't know what to do!' Zayne was confused since before he had never fought such fast opponents, they just surrounded him, not allowing him to move.

Elin tried to help him as she drew her bowstring to the limit, ready to fire at any moment, but she just couldn't do it.

'No way... If I shoot now there's a good chance I'll hit Zayne... Those birds, they're too close.' Elin bit her lip nervously.

"Rark! Rark! Rark!" One of the birds, the one that was the biggest, flew up as if calling the others after it.

At the same moment, the two birds dug their sharp claws into Zayne's shoulders, making his face twist in pain, then they soared upward, lifting Zayne above the ground.

"No!" Elin exclaimed desperately as she launched the arrow in a panic.

Immediately Roland appeared in front of her, with a swift sweep cut the arrow in two.

"Elin, calm down. Do you realize how risky that was?" Roland said sternly as he stared at her.

Elin sighed and dropped to her knees with a devastated look.

"I understand. Don't worry about Zayne, he can definitely handle this little problem, what's more, we'll go to his aid right away." Roland turned to Rina and the coachman, "Ride on without us. We'll rescue Zayne and get to town ourselves, luckily it's not far."

"Understood." The coachman said calmly as he tilted his hat slightly and headed for the carriage. He opened the door and looked at Rina, "Miss Oracle, you had better heed the Commander's advice. The sooner we get to town, the better. It's not safe here."

Rina nodded silently and ran up to the carriage, turned to Roland, and said, "Commander, Elin, take care!"

Roland nodded silently.

Crackle.

The coachman yanked on the reins, causing the horses to rush forward, raising a dense cloud of dust around them.

"Agh, this day started too quietly, something was definitely going to happen." Roland sighed heavily as he lifted his head up, looking at Zayne's receding silhouette.

Elin came to her senses, gripped her bow tightly, and stared at Roland seriously, "Commander, we must not waste any more time!"

"Sure." Roland nodded as he headed forward.

"Rark!!!" Suddenly there was a furious roar as the first bird, though wounded in the chest, snapped off the tree to which it had been nailed by the arrow.

"What...?!" Elin frightenedly exclaimed as the bird came crashing down on Roland, who was standing with his back to it, at great speed.

Crackle.

Roland turned sharply as his fist clenched tightly around the head of the bird, at which his menacing gaze was directed.

"I don't know what's going on here, but you and your master will receive the harshest punishment for what you have done. I don't advise you to piss me off." Roland whispered like a beast on the threshold of rage as his muscles tensed causing his veins to swell to the limit.

The bird's head exploded from such powerful pressure, sprinkling part of Roland's face with dark blood.

"Elin, let's run, we don't have much time." Roland spoke before rushing forward.

"Yes..." Elin gulped.

...

"Shit! Why are you picking on me?! What do you want from me!" Zayne exclaimed angrily as he was about to swing his sword to get rid of the birds, but as soon as he looked down he immediately dismissed those thoughts.

Zayne didn't know how high up he was, but the massive trees now looked like little green dots, while clouds floated beside him. If he fell now, he would just turn into a pancake.

"Agh... Why did this happen to me?" Zayne shook his head, returning the sword to his inventory, "Well, I guess I have no choice but to wait, right? This isn't what I was expecting at all."

...

Roland and Elin ran as fast as they could, so they managed to keep close enough distance from Zayne to see him.

"Commander... I'm starting to get tired..." Elin muttered with difficulty, feeling her legs gradually going numb.

"Don't worry, there's still a little more to go. Looks like we're almost to the right place." Roland calmly replied, watching the birds begin to descend.

"Fine, in that case, I'll try to hold out longer." Elin nodded weakly.

...

Tap. Tap. Tap.

The birds landed in front of the entrance to the deep cave as they finally let Zayne go. They headed forward, completely ignoring him as their mission was accomplished.

"I don't know if the game wants me to go into that cave, but I'm not interested at all! The less trouble the better!" Zayne frowned and ran in the opposite direction of the cave, deep into the forest.

Whooooooooooooooooosh.

No sooner had Zayne walked a few steps than something small and thin jabbed into his neck, then everything blurred before his eyes.

[You have been poisoned!]

[Use the antidote immediately or you will pass out!]

However, Zayne could no longer see these messages. The poison worked very quickly, almost instantly, leaving Zayne defenseless.

Step. Step. Step.

A silhouette emerged from the cave, on whose shoulder sat a massive raven with three violet eyes that glowed like ghostly torches amidst the darkness.

"Hehehe, looks like today is my lucky day. Traveler, with such a powerful blood aura, I don't know what you managed to do, kid, but you can consider it punishment for the murders that gave you that energy." The silhouette grinned wickedly, picked up Zayne with ease, and dragged him into the depths of the cave.

...

A few minutes later, Roland and Elin reached the entrance of the cave. They moved quickly but didn't make it in time because they had to wade through dense forests where there were no paths.

"What is this place...?" Elin mumbled puzzled as she looked at the cave, "Zayne is there, right?"

"Yeah, it definitely is. Well, go ahead and save our mate. We can't abandon him at a time like this." Roland said seriously as he stepped forward, towards the darkness.

'Damn, I don't like this place at all. Even from those caves, I didn't feel such an oppressive atmosphere... This place is literally telling me to turn around and leave before it's too late.' Roland muttered inwardly with a gulp.

Roland didn't know if he was imagining it or not, but from the depths of the cave, purple energy was emanating as if from the entrance to an abyss that gave him the creeps.