Rise Online: Return of the Legendary Player

Outside of Rise Online, the repercussions of what happened that early morning were gigantic. 

"The War that Lasted a Night" was what many news portals were calling this unprecedented event, and it seemed to have been one of those nights that mark the history of a game, one of those events that seem to have been scripted. 

The night full of twists and turns, striking characters and surprising events seemed to form a much better plot than anyone could have imagined right after the Special Program National Tournament.

It all started when the disappearance of hundreds of thousands of players suddenly began to be noticed and reported in the real world. Players who had been teleported to some dark dimension and were unable to play began shouting about it to the four winds, and logically this soon spread to the virtual world as well.

Rumors about the destruction spreading on the borders between the Kingdom of Mibothen and the other kingdoms spread quickly, and players began to mobilize. This was a great opportunity to get money, quests and whatever else they could get.

From that moment on, everything started to get worse. The destruction spreading across the borders was just the remnants of what had already almost completely destroyed Mibothen. What's more, a substance seen only in hell, miasma, was proliferating rapidly, causing strange, stronger-than-normal creatures to appear in Mibothen.

Nevertheless, a group of brave players advanced into Mibothen. They were the first and when they finally reached what they discovered to be the place where the beam of light that destroyed Mibothen came from, they discovered a traitor. Linus Farwynn, a highly respected lieutenant of the Order of Dalamyr, an organization that hunts supernatural creatures, was revealed to have been responsible for the downfall of the order and also responsible for the deaths of all its members. 

To Kaizen, Linus seemed wild from the start, but that just seemed to be his way and it didn't make him any less trustworthy than most. However, he was wrong.

Linus revealed that he only helped Kaizen so that he could obtain the Mana Crystal, protected by the great minotaur in his labyrinth, and that this Mana Crystal was the weapon he used to help The Eye of Hermodr practically finish off Mibothen. Fortunately, Linus was defeated and imprisoned by Alina, the Librarian of the Library of the Magi, except that most of the nefarious cult's plans had already been completed.

Despite this, Kaizen and the others got reinforcements, the Crimson Soldiers, and so they decided to divide and conquer. One group left for the Capital of Mibothen, another went to explore the outskirts of Mibothen. Dathan and Alina remained in the Eldoria Mountains to protect the Mana Crystal and also to welcome and instruct the reinforcements.

In the end, the group that went to the Capital of Mibothen was not sufficiently prepared. They didn't just find a few meters, they found an empty city guarded by ten of the most powerful demons in all of Hell, each of them normally responsible for protecting a circle of Hell.

Kaizen had no choice but to accompany them and abandon his companions. He was taken to the main room of the capitol, where Zylok, the First Bishop and also leader of The Eye of Hermodr was, except that what happened inside was never revealed to the general public. 

Some reports said that Kaizen defeated Zylok in a long battle, while other websites and blogs often claim that Zylok was convinced by Kaizen, while the more conspiratorial posts on the forums said that Kaizen and Zylok were already friends and that Zylok helped Kaizen gain all this fame, but these posts were ignored by a large part of the community.

Anyway, Kaizen somehow managed to get out of the city and ran into a siege made up of thousands of players. War didn't take long to break out after that, except that Zylok, for some reason, was on the side of the players at that moment and no longer the demons.

Each of the demons had the strength of an Evolved and some of them were even stronger than Evolved, except that Zylok and Fryft became powerful forces of the allies, as if they had been waiting for this moment to betray them.

The war against the demons dragged on for hours and hours, until near dawn, when Kaizen finally became an Evolved and Bloody Lily managed to go to Muspelheim, miraculously try to steal the demons' contract and tear it up.

No one knows for sure what happened in Muspelheim, but Bloody Lily made all the players and NPCs from the Kingdom of Mibothen return unharmed and soon the portal between the two worlds closed.

Now, Kaizen watched silently from an elevated spot, contemplating everyone's happiness. His eyes, normally impassive, revealed an expression of satisfaction. He knew that this moment was not just a victory like the others, but a triumph that would change everything from now on.

Bloody Lily was being approached by players who thanked her and praised her bravery as she made her way through the camp, but right now, it was she who wanted to thank her. For this reason, when she saw Kaizen at the top of what looked like the rest of the capitol vault, her eyes lit up with emotion.

Kaizen, with her normally unperturbed expression, noticed the presence of the approaching Bloody Lily and turned towards her. Their gazes met, and for a brief moment, that feeling of the heart beating faster was clear in both their eyes. 

Without saying a word, Bloody Lily approached and sat down next to Kaizen on top of the vault.

The warrior tilted her head, watching him intently. "You look pensive. What's going through your mind right now?"

Kaizen's lips curved slightly, a subtle gesture of reflection. "This victory isn't just about defeating the demons. It's over. The Eye of Hermodr is also over and what I was fighting against no longer exists, only something tells me that we're not close to the end."

Blood Lily smiled, bowed her head for a moment and then raised it to look out over the vast camp. "Of course we're not near the end, but it feels like a fresh start, doesn't it?"

Kaizen looked at her, surprised that this seemed to be exactly the description she was looking for. "Yes, exactly. A fresh start." He smiled at her.