This truly was the end of the Chaotic Dogma Realm! However, Izroth and his party had yet to receive any message from the system about completing the SS-ranked quest. This is the main reason that they did not get too excited immediately and thought that there may be more to it than Aeshima would have them believe.
"Then, why are we still in this place? How do you we get out of here?" Valentine asked. According to the information they obtained before entering into the Chaotic Dogma Realm, they were supposed to be teleported out after reaching the end. If this was the end, then why were they still here and not back in Amaharpe?
"Do you wish to leave before acquiring what you have journeyed so far to claim?" Aeshima spoke in a gentle tone of voice. She then waved her hand as the crystal sphere that was floating near her disappeared and then reappeared directly in front of Izroth.
She then continued, "I am sure that every single one of you has many questions to ask. However, time is limited as the Chaotic Dogma Realm is already beginning to vanish from this plane. So look carefully, you will only see it once."
Aeshima lightly clapped her hands together as a strong force swept over Izroth and his party. But, it was not harmful and instead, it turned out to be surprisingly gentle after the initial burst.
Everyone could see countless images constantly passing by. There was a magnificent and glorious kingdom, a temple that emitted a holy and divine aura, and the faces of numerous unknown individuals. But, there were a few faces that everyone recognized right away.
One looked exactly like that ice statue of the empress and standing by her side facing a terrifying maelstrom that was devouring the world was none other than Zelphyrion! Not too long after that, they saw an eternal darkness that seven people were fighting against.
Those seven people were known as the seven heroes and they were personally sent off to this place by some of them.
'It's him... And her? No, that's not quite right.'
Izroth caught sight of Gear in his prime fighting without restraint against that powerful being of pure darkness. But, he noticed someone else among the seven heroes that he had personally met before. It was a woman who looked exactly like the seer Izroth met back at the Lake of Tears, Tererestiaa!
The only difference was that the woman shown in the image held a certain aura of refined and elegant maturity. The image did not last long and things kept moving forward. Eventually, everyone saw an unknown material that was black in color and glimmered like metal but had the shape of a stone tablet.
A letter slowly began to carve into the tablet leaving behind a red glow in its place. A few moments later, there was only one image left for everyone to see. It was the letter "R" carved into that black tablet.
Izroth carefully studied it as he narrowed his eyes slightly. A few seconds later, everything turned into countless particles and scattered across the room before vanishing completely.
"What was all of that?" Valentine said as he furrowed his brows. It was a lot of information to process in such a short amount of time, however, he still managed to process a decent amount of it.
"It appeared to be some kind of information treasure chest. There were many things we were told about, but never actually had the chance to view with our own eyes. Also, there were quite a few interesting things in there that I would have never thought possible. I have to organize my thoughts properly." Zi Yi said as he closed her eyes and concentrated.
Luna glanced over at Izroth and noticed that his gaze was still set on the place where that last image of the black tablet was just a few moments ago.
"Is something wrong, Izroth?" Luna asked.
"No, it's just something that's a bit interesting is all." Izroth said as he then turned his attention to the orb floating before him.
Luna gave a small nod and did not pursue the matter. But for some reason, she felt as if Izroth was bothered by that last image.
"You'll have to excuse my rudeness, but this place shall no longer welcome you. The time for the Chaotic Dogma Realm is over and the tower must be returned. That glass sphere is a gift from the owner of this tower to the people of your realm." Aeshima said.
She then continued, "For receiving such a gift, you should be grateful. You must make sure that the Sphere of Heslin finds its way into the correct hands." Aeshima and the Endless Pandemonium Tower itself began to slowly disappear piece by piece.
Izroth reached out and touched the glass sphere. As soon as his fingers came into contact with it the glass sphere entered into his inventory.
〈System Alert: The item «Sphere of Heslin» has been added to your inventory.〉
'It holds a faint aura that is similar to the Boundary Sealing Sphere.'
"Woah! What's going on?!" Halls yelled in surprise when he noticed that the tower that was beneath their feet was no more and he, as well as, everyone else were floating in mid-air.
Everyone else was also shocked by the scene before them. Everywhere they looked large chunks of the Chaotic Dogma Realm were being sucked into the sky above. Hovering in the sky where the pieces of the Chaotic Dogma Realm were headed to were two blood red moons.
These blood red moons gave off an ominous and eerie feeling as it devoured the Chaotic Dogma Realm as if it were nothing.
"The Chaotic Dogma Realm is crumbling apart." Zi Yi said with an astonished expression on her face. To witness an entire world being torn into countless pieces and float towards the sky above as you stood safely in the sky, it could easily make one feel slightly overwhelmed.
The two blood moons started to move closer to one another. A few moments later, the blood moons collided together as the entire Chaotic Dogma Realm was now just a place filled with nothing but a crimson red light.
After that flash occurred, Izroth and his party were all swept away by a brilliant light. The crimson light faded and all that remained of the Chaotic Dogma Realm was nothingness.
...
'We have returned with our true bodies this time. However, this is....'
Izroth and his party had returned to Amaharpe Palace inside of the same white cubed room that they spoke to Gear in before their departure. But what truly surprised him was the spam of alerts he received from the system.
Most of them were the system messages that were previously grayed out.
〈System Alert: The event «Protectors of Amaharpe» had ended.〉
〈System Alert: Congratulations, you have placed 1st in the Solo ranking for total event points in the event «Protectors of Amaharpe».〉
〈System Alert: Congratulations, your party has placed 1st in the Party ranking for total event points in the event «Protectors of Amaharpe». Party name not found. Party name registered as Unknown.〉
〈System Alert: Please check in at the event center located in Amaharpe Square to claim all event-related rewards.〉
〈System Alert: The first major event has been completed. Initiating time sync... Errors Found: 0%. Time Sync has been completed!〉
〈System Alert: In-game time ratio has been changed to 3:1 from 10:1. All cooldowns and timers including but not limited to quest, items, and skills have been adjusted accordingly.〉
...
The first thing that immediately grabbed Izroth's attention was the time sync. Dropping down to a 3:1 ratio from a 10:1 ratio was a huge jump! However, Izroth truthfully did not believe that the 10:1 ratio would last forever. After all, what gaming company would be in a rush for all of their players to reach the end?
Though, there were also rumors going around about the dangers of a 10:1 time ratio in the media. Of course, the rumors were unproven, but a gaming company had to keep track of its image. It may have used this as an opportunity to shake off any potential backlash.
Ultimately, Izroth did not have any issues with the change. 3:1 or 10:1, it did not matter. In the end, his goal remained unchanged.
〈System Alert: You have unlocked a new skill for the trait «Soul Essence».〉
'Hm?'
As Izroth continued to read over his systems alerts, he was a bit surprised to learn that he had unlocked a new skill. However, after seeing the details of the skill he understood why that was the case.
Trait: Soul Essence
...
*New*-Soul Pressure: The user releases the power of their Soul Essence and caused nearby enemies within a range of 30 meters to experience a Willpower Check. Enemies who fail the Willpower Check will be «Weakened» and «Frenzied». All targeted enemies within range who are far weaker than the user will experience «Instant Death». Consumes Essence on use. The greater the resistance, the more Essence will be consumed.
'Useful, but the unclear Essence usage is a bit of a problem.'
Izroth was satisfied with the overall addition to his Soul Essence trait, however, he felt that there was still room for growth and improvement.
Everyone was excited as they read through their system messages from the event.
"We actually came in 1st place as a party?" Halls was dumbfounded. They had not entered the event until the sixth wave and somehow still managed to come in first place! How was such a thing possible? Well, he knew exactly who to thank for it.
"Ahahaha! What else do you expect? How can we lose with brother Izroth on our team?" Guan Yu said in a joyful manner. How could he not be excited about taking first place?
A few moments later after discussing everything that happened, there was a question that started to cross everyone's mind.
"So, how do we get out of this place? I don't see any doors or exits." Halls said as he frowned.
"Hey! We're ready to get out of here! Anyone there?" Guan Yu shouted. However, there was no response.
Zi Yi took a moment to open her system interface. She scanned her friendslist and soon found who she was looking for. The messaging system was back online and so she sent a message off. Almost instantly after she sent the message, she received one in return.
After reading the message, Zi Yi let out a small sigh as she shook her head. After exchanging a few messages, she finally understood their situation.
"I just messaged my elder sister. According to her experience, we'll have to wait here until the Crimson Corps Guards retrieve us. However, it may be a bit different since we were the party to reach the end of the Chaotic Dogma Realm. Logically speaking, we should have to meet up with the people who sent us to the Chaotic Dogma Realm in the first place." Zi Yi explained.
Luna nodded as she said, "We have to make sure that the Sphere of Heslin ends up in the correct hands."
Izroth went into his inventory and removed the Sphere of Heslin.
'We went through quite a bit to obtain this little item and yet we have no idea what it does.'
Just as Izroth removed the Sphere of Heslin from his inventory, a voice sounded out from behind him.
"Hello young man, if you're receiving this message it means that you were successful in your journey. Hah, I knew you could do it." The voice said.
Everyone was startled at first, but when they realized who the voice belonged to they calmed down. When they turned towards the source of the voice, everyone saw an energy projection of Gear!
"Unfortunately, the others and I are out for a little stroll at the moment. Therefore, we have entrusted the finalization of your task to a certain individual within the mountain regions. I believe the two of you have already met once before, Izroth. Make haste and deliver what you have obtained from the Chaotic Dogma Realm to the Seer Tererestiaa. I must take my leave, safe journey." Gear's projection slowly faded.
Right after Gear finished speaking, Izroth and his party were transported to the front of Amaharpe's Palace gates by a mystical energy.'
Izroth was curious as to what Gear and the others were off doing. After all, even though he said stroll, it was obviously something much more going on behind the scenes.
'I suppose time will tell. For now, I should take this item to the Lake of Tears.'