New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live



Opening his eyes, Astaroth was right where he had started. Surrounded by undead monsters, as they were lunging toward Chronos and the rest of the party.

He shook his head a bit, wondering what kind of weird visions those had been.

'Am I going insane?' he wondered.

But as he was about to lunge back at the enemies surrounding him, a soft, melodic hum echoed in his mind. Astaroth lurched to a stop, snapping his head around, wondering who had done this.

But it resounded once more, delicate, almost inviting.

Astaroth focused on himself briefly, trying to see if something was wrong within his body, and gasped in shock.

Inside his chest, where his soul was, floated a new little white orb, orbiting his soul slowly. When he focused on it, he saw the child, a hand extended toward him.

'Are you calling out to me? Who are you?'

The boy didn't answer, but only stretched his hand closer, a smile appearing on his lips.

Astaroth didn't know what to make of this. But if this thing was inside him, it couldn't be an enemy.

Right?

He carefully reached out, grabbing the boy's hand, and his mind reeled.

Astaroth's body convulsed for a second, as it began glowing once more, this time more steadily. As the power filled him, he looked at his glowing body again, connecting the dots.

'So it was his power earlier. But where does it come from?'

Astaroth looked at his status and frowned. His stats had barely gone up.

Astaroth couldn't go check the stats of this new entity, as he could barely link to it, but the melding upgrade was abysmal.

Scrolling down through the window, only one thing stood out to him.

*Divine Endowment*

All your attacks are imbued with the power of divinity. This essence repels anything that is unholy. The power of gods is not something lightly given, chosen one.

All attacks now deal holy damage. The endowment can be shared with nearby allies.

***

Astaroth gasped at the last phrase. He looked toward his party, thinking about extending this glow to them, and watched as they started shining in white and gold, one by one, like light bugs.

The contrast with the darkness surrounding them was stark. Astaroth almost felt reminisce of the starry space around Psyche's domain.

Astaroth could feel the divine essence in the mana passing through his body. The feeling was the same as previously, and he knew he couldn't waste any of it.

Spinning on his heel, he caught a passing-by skeleton on the temple with his foot. Instantly, the skeleton crumbled to the ground, inert.

He observed for a few seconds, trying to see if any mana came back to animate it, but nothing happened. Grinning from ear to ear, he shouted to the rest of his party.

"It's time to go all out! If you were hiding some aces, use them!"

Phoenix and Violette, who were running on fumes, felt that every attack they delivered, even the slightest of water jets or firebolts, dealt much more damage than they should. The numbers showing up in their eyes remained unchanged, but the undead they hit reeled in pain or outright dropped, not to get back up.

Meat-Shield felt invincible, as the undead crashing into him suddenly started taking damage from the light glowing off his shield, and he cackled.

"Ke ke ke ke! Feel the light, you unholy motherfuckers! Die!"

He rammed his body through the tide of undeath that faced him, reaching further into the wave, before roaring powerfully. His roar shook the air, as the surrounding undead suddenly went against their orders to advance on Chronos, and turned their heads toward the dwarf.

"That's right, bitches! Look at me!"

This loosening of the onslaught allowed Galtion to click his heels together before bolting off to the side. He used his new boots for the first time, and felt exhilaration, as his acceleration didn't stop.

After going around the large arena twice, already close to breaking the sound barrier, as a wind funnel formed behind him, he arced back and charged toward the Lich.

Hitting it in the side, the Lich barely had enough time to conjure another barrier, as Luna was still harassing him constantly, to block the rushing lancer. When the light-coated spear slammed into the barrier, Galtion felt all his momentum disappear instantly, making him almost halt immediately.

But it wasn't wasted. The barrier stopped the initial charge, reducing the player's speed by ninety percent, but it shattered without blocking it fully.

This had for effect Galtion continuing forward, and piercing through the Lich, bursting through it and skidding to a stop before the stone wall.

*52,659*

Seeing the damage number, Galtion gasped. It was the first time he dealt so much damage in a single strike, and he felt a renewed excitement.

"Now we're talking!"

He dashed away again, before the Lich could counter-attack him, and started circling the arena once more.

Jaxx watched as everyone around him fought with renewed enthusiasm, and couldn't let them have all the glory. So he used his hidden ace.

He had wanted to wait for the last boss of the dungeon, before revealing it, to act like the hero he thought he was. But circumstances changed.

Slamming his axes together twice, he uttered a battle cry!

"For glory! For Valhalla!"

His body grew in size, reaching seven feet in height, as his muscles rippled with power under his leather armour. His axes shone a blood-red glow, as tattoos appeared on his skin.

This was his Legacy Skill, Viking's Wrath.

Jaxx had picked up a Legacy, not long after he began playing the game, called Ironside's Legacy. It made him bigger, stronger, and much more resistant to damage.

He didn't know how he got it, and only knew that it had appeared on his list after a very gruesome battle he and his sister had fought. But he cherished it regardless.

Feeling his power swell, he jumped into action, bulldozing a path through the undead legion, and quickly reaching Meat-Shield's side.

"You aren't taking all these enemies alone, pal! Let me have some fun too!"