MMORPG : Rise of the Interstellar God

An hour and a half later.

World of Warcraft II—Blasted Lands—Dreadmaul Hold

Most of the Renovatio Imperii and SoulCalibure executives were all present, but many were getting impatient. Ceasar, the raid leader who was necessary to actually facilitate the renewal of portal rights, was almost thirty minutes late.

Even the NPC required for the maintenance, a human Alliance captain wearing heavy armor, starting saying voice lines about how they didn't have all day.

Azazel turned to his guild leader. "Calm down, Optimus. I was told that Hyrule has launched raids on Stormwind. Ceasar is probably late because he had to handle that."

This was an obvious lie to everyone involved. Obviously, Azazel was simply trying to preserve the relationship between the two guilds. Somehow, it just seemed to make the air even more tense.

Suddenly, the door to the building opened. Ceasar entered, accompanied by Augustus and a score of very high level players with glowing armor and legendary equipment.

This appearance was quite surprising to everyone involved, including the lower-ranking Renovatio Imperii players! Augustus himself never showed up like this for such a routine event, not when Ceasar could handle matters on his own.

They were meeting in the fortress's "town hall," a building like a church with two rows of benches. Renovatio Imperii players sat on the right side and SoulCalibure players sat on the right. There were also a handful of NPC guards present, though they remained neutral, since nobody currently had official ownership of the zone.

As expected, Ceasar walked over to the Alliance captain NPC, who said, "Greetings, glorious adventurer! Your efforts have allowed you to seize the Dark Portal. In the name of the Alliance, I grant you ownership of the area to be ruled and managed as you see fit." As had happened each time in the past when Renovatio Imperii had renewed control over the Dark Portal, the NPC handed over a scroll granting Ceasar ownership of The human captain then gave him a scroll with the title of ownership of "Blasted Lands," the zone where the Dark Portal could be accessed.

Ceasar took the scroll and opened it, his face expressionless. A message appeared in chat.

[System: Scroll property: Blasted Lands]

[System: Please name any number of players who control "Blasted Lands" and assign levels of control which total 100%]

Ceasar closed his eyes and took a long, deep breath. "Augustus. One hundred percent."

[System: Please confirm: Grant 100% control of "Blasted Lands" to the player "Augustus?"]

Ceasar replied, "Confirm."

[Server Announcement: The player "Augustus" has received 100% control of the zone "Blasted Lands"]

[Server Announcement: Congratulations to the player "Augustus" who has earned the title of "King of Kings" of the Eastern Kingdom for controlling the southern part of the Eastern Kingdom]

A heavy silence fell over all the gathered players. Even among Renovatio Imperii, only the executives knew of the plan of betrayal. The normal players were just as horrified as the players Ceasar had just betrayed.

Suddenly, a golden crown appeared on Augustus's brow. He stood up and addressed the SoulCalibure players. "Our collaboration ends today."

Optimus sprang to his feet and shouted, "Expect enormous consequences for your actions, you bastards! If you think for one second that we'll let you dominate the continent after your betrayal, you're dreaming!"

Augustus smiled. "You're the one who's dreaming, if you think for one second that you'll get out of here in one piece!"

[System: The guild "Renovatio Imperii" has just declared war on the guild "SoulCalibure"]

Suddenly, the NPC guards in the room shifted into fighting positions and drew their swords!

Augustus shouted, "Soldiers! Capture all the enemy players! Legionnaires, cast your stuns and debuffs!"

In a split second, the town hall fell into chaos.

Spells and arrows sped from one side of the room to another to such an extent that it was difficult to see who belonged to which side. In moments, however, the fight began dying down. The SoulCalibure players simply couldn't withstand the combined force of Renovatio Imperii and the elite NPC guards.

The main obstacle for the betrayers was the fact that SoulCalibure's tanks were extremely skilled. They reacted quickly to realizing they were betrayed and prepared the skills which let them ignore stuns and debuffs for a few moments. Indeed, if it weren't for the prowess of these tanks, the very resource which had been so beneficial to Renovatio Imperii for years, the battle might have been over in moments.

Even still, the tanks couldn't hold on forever, and they began to fall one by one.

Furniture shattered and tapestries caught fire as skills blasted the close quarters from every side. Smoke and sparks filled the air as friends turned against one another, driven by the orderers of their leaders to fight the people they'd laughed and cheered with for so long.

One thought dominated the minds of almost everyone present: things can never be the same again.

In the middle of all this chaos, Azazel realized something strange: Ceasar was still standing in front of a shattered desk in the front of the town hall, motionless. It was as though he'd been turned to stone.

Was Ceasar biding his time so that he could finish off the last of SoulCalibure while he still had full HP and all his skills, or was there something else at play here? Regardless, Azazel felt a deep rage and feeling of betrayal wash over him.

He'd trusted Ceasar. They'd been like brothers.

And it certainly seemed that Ceasar had planned on betraying Azazel for a long time now.

With a shout of rage, Azazel leaped from his guild's defensive position and charged at Ceasar. He swung his greatsword at Ceasar's right side.

Finally, Ceasar moved a muscle. He moved his own weapon and just barely parried the blow. Even still, he didn't look Azazel in the eyes.

Augustus saw this confrontation. "Guards, go kill—"But Ceasar shouted, "No! I have to do it myself! For the glory of Rome!"

Augustus smiled at this. "Shall we take a break?" he shouted to the remaining SoulCalibure players.

The betrayed guild stared cautiously back at Augustus, but in a few moments everyone had stopped fighting and gathered to watch the duel of champions.

Azazel grew even more furious. "Don't play the noble knight! You're nothing but a traitorous son of a bitch! Look me in the eye and admit it!"

Ceasar answered, "So what? I'm the best Warrior in the game. And I'm one of the best guilds in WoW. I don't give a damn about a puny little Warrior like you." His voice was completely emotionless, the words heavy and thick, as though he had to use every bit of effort to push them out into the air.

These words hurt Azazel deeply. He'd always considered Enzo as his brother. They'd truly spent as much time together as any true siblings. How could these words be coming out of Ceasar's mouth? Had their whole friendship been a lie from the very beginning?

Though Ceasar was outwardly impassive, his soul burned with anger and grief inside him. He hated himself. He hated Augustus. He hated the cruelty of a world that forced people into situations like this.

Seeing that Ceasar had nothing more to say, Azazel's eyes narrowed. He tried to push all memories of Ceasar as his brother out of his mind. "Well, it certainly looks like everyone's expecting a fantastic duel. Let's give it to them as challengers, like gladiators in your precious Rome's colosseum. How about it? A duel to the death?"

He sent a very rare due; request, which hung dangerously in Ceasar's chat box. "Whoever loses this will have his character deleted!"

Ceasar finally met his once-friend's gaze. He saw the tears streaming down Azazel's face.

Augustus now frowned. "Don't do it, Ceasar. We've already won this battle. A duel would be wonderful to show these fools the true power difference between us, but there's not a single thing to be gained by wagering your whole character like this."

Ceasar remembered what Azazel had recently told him about his life and plans for the future. The loss of so much Dark Portal revenue would have already cut a massive slice out of Azazel's pension. That was a harm that couldn't be undone.

But this? If Azazel lost his entire character and all its resources, he'd have wasted a huge chunk of value for his guild… not to mention all the gold he'd planned to sell to fund his retirement. In short, Azazel was wagering his family's entire future.

"Don't be a fool, Louis!" Ceasar said. "If you lose here, you'll throw away four years of progress! You have a family to think of!"

Azazel replied scornfully, "I don't know what Augustus promised you to buy your betrayal, but even if my plans are falling apart, I'll still have my honor… unlike you!"

Ceasar's overall item level was far superior to Azazel's, to such an extent that he couldn't imagine having a chance of losing. It truly seemed as though Azazel was willing to give everything up for the sake of his honor.

Ceasar let out a deep breath. "If you truly want this… I won't stop you. But you're making your own fate here. We're past the point where you can blame others for your suffering!"

With that, Ceasar clicked "Accept."

[System: the conditional duel with the player "Azazel" will start in ten seconds]

Those seconds were the longest of Ceasar's life, far longer than his lingering days in prison.

[System: the conditional duel with the player "Azazel" has begun]