"Mistakes Were Made."

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[Skyfreix 27, 0100 A.R]
[Atherion]

In-game time 1:46 PM

After setting foot inside the dark expanse, an onslaught of in-game prompts bombarded their vision one after another. A lot of pings and messages later, Yuna was finally able to hear her thoughts.

With a loud metallic groan, the door behind them slammed shut thanks to an unknown force. Moments after the door was closed, a series of torches lined across the wall lit up, albeit dim, leading down to the opposite side of the room which was in front of the two.

Before the two of them could ponder any further, a yellow triangle floated in front of their vision as a warning sign, they quickly braced themselves after seeing it as an alarming amount of pressure was placed above the both of them. And as if trying to help them, the system had one word to say to them.

ᴡᴀʀɴɪɴɢ!

"This is...on another level..." Muzui commented on the pressure they were placed under, comparing it to what they've been through was like comparing a pistol to a nuke. It took all of their mental focus just to stand under this immense presence as any second they could pass out.

"Just hold on..." Through gritted teeth, Yuna forced herself to stand up even if it felt like the ceiling itself was crushing them. What seemed like an hour was actually a second as the burden abruptly vanished. Yuna fell on her knees while Muzui held on to his, keeping a standing position as he wiped off a bit of sweat from his tired face.

Trying to control her erratic breathing, Yuna stood up, her knees still trembling from what happened. "I thought I was going to die for a second there," she let out a sigh of relief.

"Yeah I also thought I was done for, we really should get out of this place," Muzui instructed, looking back at the door behind them before pulling out his blade.

"Wait what are you doing?" Yuna stared back at her companion with wide-eyes as she saw the samurai's blade glow in an ominous red hue as Muzui pumped his ki into his attack. "Wait we need to-" before she could even finish, the samurai performed a high-speed attack against the door within a blink of an eye.

"Fuck." Cursing in surprise, Muzui took a step back as his blade made no scratches on the door. Yuna was also taken aback by what happened, knowing Muzui being a few leagues stronger than her, seeing how even Muzui's strongest attacks made no difference, "Well there goes that idea," the samurai slid his blade back into its sheath, then looked at Yuna.

"Idiot! you should've listened to me first," she punched the young man on the shoulder leaving Muzui whimpering in pain.

Rubbing his shoulder where she hit him, Muzui looked back at her with a shrug, "At least I tried, now we know." He replied.

Letting out an annoyed sigh, Yuna turned her attention to the center of the dimly lit room, "Since we're already here, let's at least finish what we've started," she proclaimed while looking around them.

"This place doesn't look like a treasury or an armory, not even a bunker," Muzui pointed out while trailing off as he followed the markings on the walls.

"Let's just see if we could find the exit," Yuna told him as they slowly walked forward into the massive room. Now that they've noticed, the walls and floor weren't made of stone or marble, instead, it was composed of the same dark metal used to make that door. It amazed the two of them how such a place was even built in the first place as something as massive as this would at least take a few centuries to even finish.

Yuna tested out if they could dent the walls of the room using her sword coated in mana and ki, it ended up with the same result as they expected. Not even a scratch on it as the surface kept a smooth exterior. Looking above them, they noticed how high the ceiling was, being a hundred meters tall. One would wonder why this place was even built in the first place.

"This place reminds me of a prison," Muzui spoke, his voice echoed as they reached the center of the room.

"Yeah, whoever built this prison must've wanted whatever was inside to stay there," Yuna agreed with her friend, continuing their mindless walking towards the deeper parts of the room. Then at some point in their journey, Yuna ended up tripping on something she didn't notice. Letting out a yelp, the girl fell on the floor with a dull thud.

"Watch where you're going you clutz," Muzui gave her a hand then pulled her right back up to her feet. The girl held her nose while her face had a red tint to it.

"What even was that?" Looking back to where she stood, Yuna and Muzui came to the sight of a huge black chain as thick as a person's thigh. No wonder Yuna tripped, the object was so heavy that even with Muzui and Yuna's strength they were only able to lift it for a second before placing it down.

"How did they even manage to carry that thing?" Muzui sat down on the floor sighing while out of breath from trying to lift the chain. Meanwhile, Yuna continued walking further into the chamber in search of an exit. "Seriously, isn't this place already excessive? Why use chains if the door can't even be damaged?" As the samurai was pondering to himself, his eyes followed the chains then looked up, seeing more of the chains trailing towards where Yuna went.

At first, Muzui thought nothing of it and decided to strike the chains, his blade would then bounce off the chain's surface after contact, this time he was assured that he wasn't tripping earlier. "Yeah, I guess it's tough," he sheathed his sword once more.

"Psst..." The samurai veered his head to the sound of someone calling to him, and he assumed it was Yuna. "So did you find the exit yet...?" His tone would trail off as he turned to the sight of no one. Scratching his nape, the samurai was stunned, "I thought someone was calling me." After a moment of waiting, Muzui shrugged it off.

"Hey..." The eerie voice once again was heard by Muzui sending him looking around him. "Dammit, Reika, cut it out, it's not funny," irritated, Muzui assumed it was his partner pulling out a prank by scaring him. Back in the day, Muzui had experienced getting pranked by Reika inside of a dungeon by faking her disappearance and then scaring the shit out of him.

But now that Muzui's gotten over the experience, he's not that easy to frighten. Muzui crossed his arms and stared at the hall, "Come on Reika, I know you're there." Looking unamused, Muzui called out her friend's name.

"Hey..." The voice once again called out to him, Muzui's body stiffened as he came into a realization. Nobody was there when he heard the voice but him, then if that was the case then what about Yuna? That was when Muzui started sprinting into the chamber, proceeding deep into the shadows where even the torches could not light given how weak the flames were.

And as he went deeper, Muzui felt the air suddenly grow colder and colder as his breath became visible. His sprint felt like forever as the tunnel continued for quite the distance. "Reika!" He called out as he ran, his voice bouncing across the walls.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the chamber, Yuna turned her head as she heard Muzui's voice faintly echoing behind her. She raised a torch she took from the wall and directed it to the darkness, "That idiot, I already told him to wait for me," as she said that, she heard the sounds of footsteps rapidly moving toward her direction and saw Muzui.

"Why're you here? I told you to wait didn't I?" Yuna regarded her tired friend with a bored look and tone.

"I...I thought you were...attacked," wheezed the samurai as he held his knees.

Yuna's bored look turned into a surprised one, "You were concerned for me?" Then she gave him a disgusted look as if she ate the worst food she ever tasted, "Ewwwwwww, concern, ewwwww." She shuddered.

"Hah!? What're you looking at me for?" A vein popped on Muzui's head as he glared at her.

"You were actually worried, ewww," Yuna said, feigning nausea while acting like she was throwing up.

"Fucking...I try to be nice to you and this is how you...for fuck's sake," Muzui groaned and rolled his eyes, regretting his decision of worrying for his partner.

"So what brings you here?" Yuna's mood quickly changed as she asked, this time a blunt stare.

"I heard a voice calling out to me and I thought it was you, so I started running to see if you were fine," Muzui rolled his eyes once more while crossing his arms.

"Voice? What voice?" Yuna proceeded to ask.

"I don't know where it came from but it sounded female." He explained to her as Yuna tapped her chin.

"You sure it's not just you?" Yuna started giving him a skeptical gaze.

"Why would I do that?" Muzui raised an eyebrow.

"Maybe you just wanted to hold my hand or something," she gave him a blunt stare once more, triggering the samurai.

"No! Seriously, how narcissistic can you be?" Muzui groaned then rubbed his eyes.

"Well, since we're already here how about we just find the exit?" The girl suggested to which the samurai nodded his head.

Both of them decided to walk further, now noticing the declining temperature around them as their breaths started forming white puffs. It felt like they were inside a freezer the further they went as the torches on the wall decreased the deeper they came. It only took a matter of time until they stopped to the sight of chains stuck to the walls like a messy spider's web.

Yuna swayed the torch to light the area, surprised to see something in the distance. A humanoid female wrapped in a thick layer of black metal, making her look as if she were a ball. They approached the female and noticed her scarlet hair.

Yuna was about to touch the female but was stopped by Muzui as he grabbed her hand, "Are you insane!? Don't you remember the rules!?" He yelled at her. As an Adventurer, one can discern a danger by observing and by knowing this, one should be skeptical of why the female was bound in the first place.

"Right, I forgot," Yuna replied. They stared at the girl, noting her features as pale-skinned, scarlet hair, and it seems like she wore nothing beneath the chains.

As the two were discussing what to do, the female spoke, "How long...has it been?" She asked them, catching the two off guard.

"Crap!" Yuna exclaimed, surprised to see the girl waking up then staring down at them from her elevated position. The moment she opened her glowing golden eyes, the same pressure from earlier came crashing down above the two but this time a lot stronger.

Laying flat on the floor, Yuna, and Muzui were fighting to stay awake as standing was almost impossible under such pressure. As they were pressed unto the ground, at the back of their heads they could sense the female's steely gaze pointed towards them. Yuna forced her head to look up, for a moment she froze as she saw the sun itself staring down at her in all its blazing glory until Muzui snapped her out of her daze, "Reika! Don't look at her!" Said the samurai while struggling.

Yuna shook her head then looked again, seeing the female looking down at her while strands of scarlet hair seemingly floated behind the woman's head, adding to her already menacing presence. "Who are you two?" In a voice that sounded both far and near at the same time, Yuna and Muzui were shocked to hear the female's voice and almost lost their focus.

"We're...adventurers...sent by the...guild," Muzui managed to say a response even when his cheek pressed against the cold surface.

"Why did they send you?" She asked once more.

"To slay...the ferals..." This time, Yuna replied instead of the samurai. The female stared at the both of them, shifting from Yuna then back to Muzui, once she deemed they weren't threats, she let go of her pressure on them.

The two of them gasped for air and started coughing as they felt their bodies lighten. While the pressure was gone, Yuna and Muzui still had the female in front of them, eyeing silently at them.

"So you two are merely adventurers?" The woman calmly asked them.

"Yes," Yuna nodded her head.

"And you have no intention of slaying me?" An outlandish question was thrown at the duo, sending them both off guard by what she said.

"Why would we do that?" Muzui looked confused at the female.

"We just wanted to get out of this place," Yuna said to her then added, "Do you know how to get out by any chance?"

There was a glint of amusement in the female's golden eyes as she regarded the duo, "Normally, someone from the outside has to open the door to get out since the door only opens in a single direction." She explained.

Yuna and Muzui flinched as they heard about this information. If that were the case, then the two of them would either have to stay here and wait until someone happens to find them which was highly unlikely, and there was the option of suicide as they could just create another account in exchange for losing everything they had.

"Arghhhh, dammit!" Frustrated, Muzui ruffled his hair making a mess. "We're going to be stuck here is that it!?"

Whack!

"Ow, what the fuck!?" Muzui rubbed the back of his head, glaring at Yuna after getting hit by her.

"Get a hold of yourself, it's not the time to panic," Staying as composed as she could, even Yuna was a little bit shocked by what the female told them. Then she looked back again at the smiling scarlet-haired female, intent on getting an answer she inquired the female, "Do you know a way out of this place? Please."

"I do, but what do I get in return?" She asked them, causing the duo to stare at each other while having the same thoughts. If they were to take the deal then possibilities were that she asks them to set her free which was something the two weren't keen on doing.

They've already seen what the female is capable of and they knew she was barely even human. Yuna sat down on the floor, she started pondering to herself as she unconsciously let her eyes wander towards her partner beside her. She took notice of the wounds on Muzui's body while the samurai also took notice of her's.

She once again thought about committing suicide as they were Marked Ones, after all, they won't be dead for real, just their bodies. But the more she thought about it, the more she remembered about the times she's spent together with the others-no, the time Yuna has spent with the others.

Gritting her teeth, Yuna looked back at the female, determination and a hint of guilt in her eyes, "What do you want in return?" Then the female smiled as it looked back at her.

"Set me free and I shall get you two out of here," the female told them as her iris flared like golden flames in the dark.

"And how do we do that?" Muzui asked.

"Destroy the seal and I shall be free." She motioned to a dark orb floating above her head, "Break it and you get your freedom."

As Muzui took out his blade, preparing to strike the orb, he looked at the female for reassurance, "How can we be sure that you just kill us?" Muzui asked.

"I could've done that a long time ago from the moment you two stepped inside this chamber." The female told them. Muzui knew she wasn't joking when she said that as he had the first-hand experience of what the girl could do to them. Muzui gulped then took one last look at Yuna before he struck at the orb with all his might.

There was some resistance as his blade was pushed from hitting the orb but Muzui forced himself and broke through. With the orb cut in half. Taking a step back, Muzui saw the dark chains around the woman's body melt like butter as a few seconds later, what used to be a thick layer of chains was now a pool of gurgling molten lava.

Stepping on the lava was the female, her feet touched the molten metal but it did not burn her. She flexed her arms, relishing her newfound freedom while Muzui looked away, flustered from seeing her freed body.

Yuna cleared her throat to catch the female's attention, "Uhm, are we still going to get out of this place as we promised?" Yuna asked.

Shifting her attention back at the two, the female had the expression of realization, almost forgetting about their deal earlier. "Ah yes, how rude of me, I believe I owe you two a way of escaping," the girl said causing the two to sigh in relief.

But before any of them could realize a thing, Yuna felt her head stumble forward while everything around her seemed to go into a blur. She heard Muzui's voice yelling her name as she saw the samurai drawing his blade at the female as everything turned completely pitch black.

•∆•

Yuna woke up, her head still throbbing from passing out. She looked around her while still feeling groggy from earlier. "What happened?" She said while standing up. Looking around she saw the pool of molten iron from earlier now completely cooled beside her.

"Muzui...Muzui!?" She started searching for her partner while calling his name. Walking around in search of her friend, Yuna stopped as she heard a crunch beneath her feet. She curiously took her foot off of the object ending up seeing shards of a blade littering the floor. "That's..." After a moment, Yuna would realize that they were shards from a blade, Muzui's blade.

It sent her into a panic as she followed the shards on the floor as it left a trail until it wasn't only shards but blood. She reached the door, seeing a now melted version unlike earlier. But the door wasn't what Yuna was looking at, she stared wide-eyed at the body beneath the entrance. Muzui laid on the ground, his body all messed up as he had burns all over.

"Muzui? Muzui!? Wake up! Wake up dammit!" Yuna shook her partner's body, her voice trembling as it cracked in the process. "Wake up!" But no matter how many times or how hard she shook him, Yuna couldn't wake the samurai. He had lost a lot of blood and his chest plate had melted and fused with his skin, "D-don't worry, I'll get you some help." She promised him then placed his arm around her shoulders as she carried him.

Yuna followed the trail of destruction, passing by the burning bodies of about a hundred ferals on the ground. But she ignored the corpses and forced their way till they reached the exit, bathing under the moonlight as they finally got out.

"No..." And just beyond the horizon, Yuna could only wish it was a dream. Black smoke formed clouds as the scent of burning filled the girl's nostrils. She fell on her knees, a tear trailing from her eye as she stared at the burning city of Cesro in front of her.

From afar she saw the buildings engulfed in flames as everything within the city was not spared. Her bottom lip trembled as she struggled to utter a word, "W-why did this h-happen?" She spoke with guilt and regret in her eyes. If they haven't broken the seal-no, if they hadn't gone in the room in the first place, maybe all of this wouldn't have happened.

The date was Skyfreix 29, 0100 A.R, the city of Cesro fell into ruins within a single night, sending the entirety of Atherion into disarray. Players from across the whole world would hear about the news, every man, woman, child, king, priest, Marked One, and even Inhabitants would speak of it, no one was spared.

Standing atop one of the burning buildings, the one behind all of the chaos as she stood above everything. Looking condescendingly below her with arms crossed before waving her arm, a huge magic circle would appear in front of her, and soon the whole sky above the city was filled with mandalas, "People of Zerundus! I am Vadodara

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