Rise Online: Return of the Legendary Player

Chapter 879: Third Circle, Cerberus (Part 1)

Alina took a deep breath, feeling the weight of responsibility on her shoulders. She knew that deactivating the magical barrier would leave Jayaa, the weakest of the group, vulnerable, but she also understood that remaining there, fighting indefinitely, was not a viable option.

With one last look at Jayaa, Alina began to channel her energies in a different way, searching the depths of the mana that permeated his surroundings for a solution to stop this infernal cycle.

"I'm about to deactivate the barrier," Alina warned, her voice firm despite her fatigue. "Stay alert and together. We don't know what could happen."

Jayaa, with his bard's posture and eyes closed in concentration, nodded briefly. "I'm ready." he replied, his voice laden with a confidence forged in previous battles.

Alina closed her eyes and began to chant arcane words, feeling the magical barrier around her begin to weaken. The glow that partially enveloped the group gradually diminished, and the surrounding negative energy seemed ready to advance.

Immediately, Alina directed her attention to her surroundings, looking for a pattern, an irregularity in the magic that surrounded them.

Kaizen, always attentive to detail, watched Alina with admiration and concern over his shoulder. Kaizen knew Alina's power, but he also knew the risks involved in exposing so much mana.

"I'll make time for us!"

He then stretched his hands forward and pushed two of the three soul amalgams.

Bloody Lily tore through one of the creatures Kaizen had locked onto. "Those things are... they don't even look like real monsters. They don't give XP or items!"

Andrew raised his sword and fired a series of light stakes at the third amalgam. "These things are definitely not ordinary monsters!"

As Alina delved deeper into her magical quest, Og'tharoz flew into the air, muttered a few things and a magical pentagram appeared under the feet of the amalgams, trapping them.

"This is a circle from hell! Of course it doesn't follow natural order or common sense!" Og'tharoz shouted.

Finally, Alina found what she was looking for. A small flaw in the web of magic that surrounded the place, a weak point that could be exploited.

"I found it," she whispered, relief mixed with urgency in her voice. "There's a flaw in the loop magic that holds us here. I'll try to tear it open and create a portal."

Jayaa was already on his knees, weakened by having his little mana consumed so quickly. However, when he heard Alina say that, he opened his eyes and nodded.

"Do it, Alina."

With a decisive gesture, Alina set to work on the magical flaw, channeling her energy to open a breach. The surrounding storm flickered, as if resisting the interference, but Alina didn't give up. With a cry of effort, she tore through the magical web, creating a glowing opening that pulsed with energy.

"Quick, through the portal!" ordered Kaizen, pulling Blood Lily by the arm and running towards the opening that opened like a crack between them and the amalgamations of souls.

Og'tharoz and Xisrith followed quickly, protecting the sides of the group while Alina and Jayaa, being the last, crossed the magical gap.

As soon as the last of them passed through the portal, it closed with a bang, leaving behind the storm of souls that was the Second Circle of Hell.

Jayaa fell to the snow-covered ground, the cold, biting air replacing the stifling heat of hell. The surrounding landscape was pristine white, interrupted only by snowflakes falling slowly from the cloudy sky. An icy wind howled across the hills, carrying with it the promise of a merciless winter.

Kaizen helped Jayaa to her feet, her eyes scanning her new surroundings. "We made it," he murmured, with a smile of relief. "But it feels like we're back in Niflheim..."

Bloody Lily shook the snow off her clothes. "But where are we?" she asked, observing the icy expanse around her. "This looks like an ice desert."

Og'tharoz, with his natural resistance to cold and any temperature, seemed less affected by the change in climate. "This is the Third Circle of Hell, Gula. Which means..."

In the barren frozen terrain of the Third Circle of Hell, the group led by Kaizen found themselves facing a desolate and icy landscape.

The travelers stood still, observing their new surroundings while the icy wind blew their hair and clothes. The surrounding landscape was desolate, with hills of ice stretching as far as the eye could see. The silence was piercing, broken only by the constant howl of the wind and the muffled sound of the players' first steps on the soft snow.

Xisrith stepped forward, distracted by the icy landscape around her. She accidentally stepped on the head of something that was sunk in the snow. When she bent down to check, she saw that she had stepped on a white head sunk in the snow and the head was still moving.

"What the hell is that?" she asked.

Og'tharoz looked. "Those condemned by Gluttony are doomed to a life of starvation here," he murmured, his voice laden with knowledge and sadness. "They will consume nothing, only feel the eternal cold of this earth."

This was a paradoxical existence, suspended between need and deprivation.

As they absorbed the gravity of the situation, a strong wind blew, stirring up the snow around them and making the adventurers close their eyes against the force of the wind, bringing with it the distant wailing of souls trapped in the snowstorm.

Just then, in the distance, in this world of bleak white and snowstorm, a pair of glowing red eyes contrasted on the horizon of the white storm, followed by two other pairs, one on either side of the first.

"What's that?" whispered Jayaa, pointing with one hand and her eyes widening in surprise.

"Cerberus, the three-headed dog," muttered Og'tharoz, recognizing the legendary creature that guarded the passages between the circles of Hell.

Andrew instinctively stepped back, his expression worried. "It's impossible to fight one of these things! We must flee!"

Kaizen, however, stood firm, his face determined. "We can't let it stop us. If we want to get out of this place, we have to face it, right?" He asked, looking at Og'tharoz.

"Yes, he guards the gates of the Fourth Circle, Greed."