Fallen Fate Online

Chapter 249 The Shield

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Every fighter had their own way of doing things. Some preferred agility and speed, some wanted to focus on the power of their attacks and the strength of their bodies, and some put everything on the destructive power of their skills and abilities.

However, this was only the tip, as there were many techniques, styles of combat, and weapons, the number of which was almost limitless.

The same warrior could show completely different results with a sword or axe, not to mention how different things could be if you used a bow or magic staff.

To become a master at something required training and experience, however, for one type of warrior, there were no such barriers, or rather for two.

The talented ones were able to understand how to operate this or that weapon much faster, but besides them, some could skillfully copy the movements of others.

In this case, Zayne did just that, he completely copied Valira's movements, the enemy he had just fought. Even though he had never held a trident in his hands, he was able to perform a few attacks very similar to what Valira had done.

But, something was different, for in fact, Zayne was no martial arts genius or master of copying other people's techniques, though it seemed so to many, perhaps even to him.

"Damn... He has a real talent for copying, it's quite a rare trait. I can't remember the last time I met someone with such an unusual power." Toruf sincerely said while closely watching Zayne's actions.

"Meh... I don't think it's anything impressive at all..." Kota snorted with an arrogant face, "I wouldn't want such power for myself. If you copy someone, it means you can't become better than your target! I want to be the strongest!"

Toruf smirked, "Well, those are laudable aspirations, but it's not that simple. Zayne may not be able to achieve the same skill in wielding the trident as Valira, but she's not the only movement he's copied."

Kota's eyes went wide, "I see... If he had only used her techniques against her he would have lost, but he had experience from battles with other opponents..."

Toruf nodded satisfactorily.

"No." Edvin said coldly, without threat, but it caused a chill to run down their backs.

"What do you mean?" Toruf asked cautiously. He still didn't understand how one was supposed to communicate with Edvin, who seemed both kind and pure evil at the same time.

"You are mistaken. His power is not the ability to copy the movements of others. It's something more limited, but also more profound." Edvin said confidently.

Kota and Toruf glanced over, then they gave Edvin a questioning look.

"You've already seen that Zayne can either be as wild as a beast and just as aggressive and strong, or as calm and cold as the best martial artist. Those are two extremes of one of the many paths to strength." Edvin sternly uttered, "So... At this moment, he is not copying, but only trying to imitate what he has seen before."

"Hm? What's the difference?" Kota tilted her head in a puzzled manner.

Edvin glanced at her, "In that, he's doing it in his own way. Have you seen such a powerful attack from Valira? She used her trident as a weapon to pierce the target, Zayne on the other hand just used it as a club, hitting the water."

"Doesn't that mean he's not using that weapon effectively?" Kota asked.

Edvin sighed, "Well, just to answer the question. What would you choose, to dodge Valira's accurate attack or Zayne's powerful one?"

Kota flinched as her eyes went wide when she realized that Zayne would just destroy her with his past attack. To withstand something like that was beyond her strength.

"I see you've already made your choice. Zayne has the disadvantage that he's only strong in two edges of his power, but that's also normal. No one can maintain their power for too long." Edvin stuck his hands in his pockets, looking at Zayne, but before he did he glanced away, to the other hill where the three men were standing.

A sharp glint passed over Edvin's eyes for a moment, as if he were thinking about something. It was evident that he had some plan, secret and terrible.

At the same time, Marcus was talking to Sara and Fosca about the same thing. Sara and Fosca realized what Zayne's power was likely to be and it surprised them.

"Damn! I hope I have something unique too! It's so unfair! Why does everything go to him!" Fosca clenched her fists, with puffed-up cheeks.

Marcus and Sara remained silent. They watched Zayne, who should be entering the portal soon. He had only a little time before the hourglass would be completely empty.

Zayne glanced at the trident and with a slight motion tossed it back into the lake.

"You must stay with your master. This was the last journey for both of you." Zayne muttered, then he took a breath and raised his head.

The light from the bright blue moon fell on him, reflecting in his dark eyes, "Well, I have to admit this is a fitting place to die. Definitely better than most."

Step. Step. Step.

Zayne stepped forward, his silhouette slowly disappearing in the scarlet flames.

There were hundreds of stares directed at him, and Zayne could feel it, but all he cared about then was who he had to protect.

'Valira was a worthy opponent, but something tells me it won't be that easy this time. I had a purpose in the first phase, but now... I don't know why, but something wrong is happening.'' Zayne pondered, the instincts within him trying to tell him something. It wasn't a threat, but it was something important.

"What...? Why did he leave Trial?" Fosca tilted her head in a confusion.

"It was because of the conditions." Marcus calmly explained, "You should have realized by now that Chaos doesn't just create obstacles for a contestant to get a reward. It's something else because Valira was a living person who fought and almost died. Chaos just gave her a second chance."

Marcus continued, "That means that now Zayne is heading to where something is actually happening, right now. Our world is vast, especially the Dark Lands, much of which is still unexplored."

Fosca gulped, "Wait... Doesn't that mean this is how Chaos interferes in the lives of others?"

"Yeah. That's exactly what Chaos does. It interferes with the natural order, that's what Fate is fighting against, as well as all of us." Marcus answered calmly, but for a moment his gaze grew darker, Sara and Fosca didn't notice it.

Step. Step. Step.

All the while Zayne continued to step while the shield on his emblem shone brightly. Suddenly, one part of the shield turned white and the other black.

Zayne only raised an eyebrow slightly before muttering, "Well, for some reason I was expecting this. I'll have to make a choice, but which one?"

After a while, the flames turned into a long white road leading to a bright star. Zayne reached it without delay and quickly found himself in a place unknown to him.

At the same moment, in the center of the lake, a huge sphere of flame appeared. Through it, everyone could watch Zayne's actions as if through a magic ball.

"Agh... It's even a bit strange that Chaos cares so much about us seeing everything in detail. It's a real show..." Sara muttered with a complicated expression.

Marcus shrugged, "It's a Chaos Trial. Everyone realizes how important it is."

Whooooooooooooosh.

A powerful torrent of wind swept by Zayne, making his coat and hair flutter, and it seemed that the wind was only getting stronger and would not let up. It made sense, for Zayne was standing on a high granite peak in the middle of a stone forest.

Below, there were unusual blue plants, their roots spreading across the surface like veins, shining brightly in the night.

Ahead of the forest, was a wide, and calm river, flowing slowly in its direction.

Next to the river, there was a tall black tree with a strange bark covered with scales like a snake lurking in the shadows. Strange green vines ran along the roots of the tree, sometimes pulsing, but the light was dim as if something had already happened.

To the east of the dark tree, there was a fortress with a tall tower like a wizard in a fairy tale, but the aura emanating from it would scare anyone who tried to invade it.

In the western part, amongst the dense jungle between the trees where amber fireflies flew between the trees, there was a settlement of some sort. There were several huts, large and small, as well as many creatures. They were moving about the village as if something important had happened.

Zayne took a deep breath, looked at the emblems, and looked around the area, "Well... Who do I have to protect? And is that really the main goal of this stage?"

Not only Zayne was thinking about this, but absolutely everyone was curious since this was a very distant territory of the Dark Lands.

"Hmm... I didn't think something so important would happen there that Chaos would decide to include it in the Trial." Edvin muttered with a thoughtful look.