A Second Chance

**Date Started:** July 5th, 2021
**Date Completed:** Ongoing
**Previous Role-Play:** N/A
**Users Involved:** User: Lemasters30
**Setting:** Clover Kingdom
**Characters Involved**: Malakath, Zephyr

## Solo Raid

The neutral zone, a vast area filled with unpredictable events and zones of highly concentrated mana. An area that began to be known as Tempest Valley, recently had begun to garner the attention of Magic Knights, Rogue Mages, and even treasure hunters. This was due to the emergence of a Dungeon in the area. However, if traversing the dense mana zone wasn't hard enough, the valley was filled by an endless surge of cyclones and thunderstorms. This cataclysmic area had prevented even the bravest of souls from conquering the newly emerged dungeon, with unpredictable weather and magical beasts crawling around the treacherous land. In the heart of the valley, laid the dungeon, its entrance evident due to the distortion of the mana and the flora around it, not to mention the gale winds and frequent thunder strikes that surrounded it. While not the first dungeon to emerge within the valley, this one had proven to be quite a challenge to the few that had attempted to enter it. A report of missing Knights had been sent to the Clover Kingdom, yet there would be no need for any rescue mission to be organized, for this was one of the reasons *he*  wandered the land. A strange traveler had entered said dungeon, not even knowing of the low-class Knights that remained within, waiting to be rescued. His goal was always the same. Whenever a dungeon emerged, he headed straight for it, cleared it, and continued to the next one.

Of course, his mission wasn't as simple as conquering dungeons for his own greed. No, he did it for a purpose, various, in fact. Firstly, he was capable enough to do such tasks, even by his lonesome, for the sake of his Kingdom yet primarily, his own squad. Secondly, he knew better than most how dungeons operated. Born and raised within one, he had his fare share of experience when it came to dealing with such mysterious locations. Thirdly, he simply had to do it. There were dark forces at work, gathering strength and threatening the stability of the Clover Kingdom, and possibly others. These groups raided these locations in order to grow in power, and at times, used the dungeons as their bases of operations. Another thing he knew all too well, for it was this same circumstances in which he was raised in. A group, rather, a cult, operating from within dense zones of mana to hide their movements and intentions. Of course, it was the duty of the Magic Knights to deal with such threats, but he did it for something more. His quest was almost personal, no, it definitely was. Memories of his past began to course through his mind. A sign had been carved near the entrance, and as he entered, he swiped his hand against the wooden walls of the massive tree that served as the entrance, a large hole in its base that led to a massive space within.

Unsurprisingly, many of the beasts and traps within the dungeon had been dealt with, surely the work of those that had led said mark on the entrance. The "Omega" sign. It sent chills down his spine. He clenched his teeth and right fist, as he continued his journey within, bare footed. It never got old, the feeling of concentrated mana, weighing on him tremendously, yet he continued his path without slowing down. His dark cloak weaved as Malakath stepped into a vast room. Blood painted the walls and floors. Corpses of beasts littered the area, the stench of rotting flesh would even shake veteran knights, but for Malakath, it was quite the familiar odor. Before him laid three paths, two that had surely costed the lives of some unworthy travelers, deadly traps awaiting at the end. But there was one of the paths that led to the treasure room, again, that same symbol was inscribed in the wall. He grunted, glancing at the corpses around him as he passed them by, and entered the pathway. It was surprisingly narrow and long, too long. Half an hour passed, and Malakath was only illuminated by the glow of his own Mana Skin that protected him from the dense area. Twenty more minutes, and finally, a light could be seen at the end. Only a few more meters until...

The stench of blood.

The blue haired young man hurried, quickly reaching the light at the end of the tunnel before finally reaching what appeared to be an oasis. A beautiful paradise filled with plants, massive trees, and ponds and rivers all around them. Yet the smell of blood only got stronger. The landscape was truly marvelous, yet Malakath had no time to enjoy the scenery. It merely took him a second to turn his head north west of the room, and as he did, five pairs of eyes also turned his way, noticing the Knight's presence. There it was again, that symbol, inscribed on each of the individual's capes. The sign of Omega, symbolizing the great end of something. Exactly who he was searching for. Yet as he began to walk towards the five mages, he noticed something. They were surrounding someone, attacking, kicking and pummeling what seemed to be a young man that groaned for his life. Despicable.

"Eh?" One of the rogue mages raised his brow, ordering the rest to stop the punishment on the poor youngster as he raised his palm. "what do we have here?" His voice echoed as Malakath stopped on his tracks.

"I can't sense any magic power from the guy." Another rogue spoke as the five approached slowly. "How is he even withstanding being here?"

"I don't know. Sometimes stupid people can do stupid things, am I right? Bahahahaha!" The largest of the group roared as he crossed his arms.

"Tch...That doesn't even make sense, Bordo. And it wasn't even a funny joke..."

"Argh, c'mon Stiff. You gotta' laugh at some point!" Bordo spoke again, loudly.

"Shut it, idiots." The one who had raised his hand first spoke again. "Calien has found something else for his enjoyment..." He chuckled as he grabbed the only woman of the group, a red-haired beauty that had stitches sealing her mouth shut. She simply nodded and looked down at Malakath.

Malakath stood still as they spoke, leaning slightly to the side to see if he could catch a glimpse of the poor boy they had been beating on. His right arm rose, index finger pointing at the boy. "Hey, kid. You alive?" Even if he already knew they boy still lived, he awaited an answer from his part.

"OI! Don't ignore us!" Calien exclaimed. "You really have some nerve...The blood bath in the previous room should've served to crush the spirit of any dumb intruders, but it seems you're as dense as those weak Knights from earlier, Cahahahaha!" He laughed, while the others followed suit, except the woman due to her circumstances. Malakath turned his head to his right, clenching his teeth, he noticed the maimed and tortured corpses of a group of four young magic Knights. Stripped naked, some missing limbs, others missing chunks of flesh...it was clear that whoever killed them, did so not without inflicting unimaginable pain to these youngsters before ultimately killing them.

"Why is the boy still alive then?" Malakath casually inquired once again.

"Ghhh! Calien has nothing to say to a low-life like you. Guys! Tear him limb from limb!"

"Aye sir!" Without a second of hesitation, the four mages under Calien's command brought forth their grimoires, their magic power emitting from their bodies, shaking the very foundation of the dungeon they were in.

"CAHAHA! Show this idiot our strength! POWER THAT RIVALS EVEN VICE-CAPTAINS OF THE CLOVER KINGDOM!"

The blue haired man braced himself, placing his right arm in front of his body, covering his face as each of the rogues prepared to cast a spell. "Is that so?" He uttered.

An acid wave from Bordo, a flame lion shot from Stiff, a mud barrage sent by Numa, and spears of mana sent by Harela, the red-haired woman, were all shot at Malakath from all angles as each of the mages leapt and surrounded the Knight. A massive explosion ensued, shaking the ground and walls around them. The boy slowly opened one of his eyes. His back against a wall, bloodied and with injuries covering his body, he looked confused. Just a second ago, he was sure his time was done. These mages had surrounded and beat him to a pulp, leaving him alive only because they had a purpose for him, one he wasn't even sure what it was. Calien turned to face the boy, chuckling.

"Sorry, brat. I hope you didn't think that was your shining ray of hope, Cahahaha! Now...where was Calien..." Suddenly, Calien froze as he noticed the young boy smirk. He immediately turned around, and broke into an immediate cold sweat.

Blasts of magic continued to shake the large room, as the group of rogues were suddenly intercepted by the appearance of four other individuals! Each mage fought strange beings, spells clashing with one another, attacks missing and others being fired off with great power. Remaining in the same spot as the smoke cleared, was Malakath, with not a single bruise on his body.

"What's the meaning of this...Calien requires ANSWERS!" The leader exclaimed as he released a burst of his own magical power. The boy felt as if his body was being crushed, feeling that it was merely a matter of time before he became dust. For reason unknown yet to him, he had endured the density of powerful mana in the area, but being close to such overwhelming magical power, he realized he really had been closer to death than he had anticipated.

"Answers?" Malakath calmly spoke. "Well, isn't that ironic..."

Calien's power was evident from the burst of his mana, yet his followers weren't that far behind in strength. Yet how? How were they each being held back by some puppets that had emerged out of thin air??

"Calien gets it now..." He said after taking a second to inhale, and analyze the situation. "You must have some tool that's hiding your mana, right? And those...things..." He pointed at the four, unusual warriors that fought against his followers all around the room. "Calien can sense the same magic power coming from each of them."

Malakath simply gave a slight smirk, before extending his right arm, pointing straight at Calien. Within his palm, glowing blue mana swirled in his hand, condensing into an orb, which was immediately fired straight at Calien.

"A magic bullet eh?" Calien said, before leaping high into the air and pulling out his own grimoire. "Calien is becoming more interested now!" Extending both arms to his side, Calien brought forth several pink glowing disks that appeared in front of every single "minion" Malakath had summoned himself! The disks expanded, enveloping each of the beings before each of them vanished before his followers's eyes.

"Spatial Magic..." Malakath uttered. He didn't seem distressed at all that his summons had been sent someplace else, in fact, he chose to quickly capitalize. His mana skin became stronger around his legs, enabling him to quickly dash towards the beaten young man, such speeds that the four rogues were caught of guard, reacting slightly late to his movement burst.

He placed his hand on the young boy, kneeling, and noting the presence of an unusual tool being held in the boy's hand. "I see. So this is how you've managed to endure this place." The boy then became enveloped in a light blue aura, as Malakath passed on his Reinforcement Magic unto the boy.

"What a nice guy!" Stiff exclaimed.

"Never mind that, what the hell were those things?" Numa questioned. "That shit was weird!"

"Corpses." Malakath spoke, rising back to his feet and turning towards his enemies. "Bodies of those like you lot, who have sinned greatly during their lives..."

"Ah..." Calien landed on the ground, his grimoire still floating before him. "You're him. The freak that solos dungeons. Calien has heard mention of you from time to time. Especially after you've murdered some of our acquantances!"

"W-Who?" Bordo questioned.

"Don't worry, Bordo. It won't matter who he is after this. Calien will make sure-"

"Ugh..." Malakath suddenly groaned loudly, interrupting Calien. The brown haired rogue scoffed, before opening his mouth to speak once again.

"As I was sayin, Calie-"

"UGGGHHHH!" Malakath scratched the back of his head as he grunted even louder.

"WHAAAT? WHAAAT?" Calien roared.

"This third-person gag is getting quite embarrassing. Is there any way you can just...shut up?" Malakath declared as he looked at his hand, casually fiddling with his fingers. At this point, the young boy had opened both eyes fully, feeling part of his strength returning.

Calien's eyes became bloodshot. He only spoke two words afterwards. "Mana Zone."

The surrounding area became even heavier, pink colored mana extending from around Calien. Following his display, the other four followed with the same technique, acquiring control of the mana in the very atmosphere in preparation for what was surely, something devastating.

Malakath turned and grabbed the boy by his shirt collar. "What's your name?!" He exclaimed as the buildup of magic power had caused the entire dungeon to rattle.

Confused, the boy simply answered without thinking much about it. "Z-Zeph...Zephyr." He said.

The knight smiled, and launched the young boy deeper into the dungeon with a swing of his arm. "I'll get you out of here, Zephyr! Just-" However, Malakath's words were muffled by the deafening roar of the rogue's magics merging together. Underneath and above, the pink disks had emerged, alongside several dozen mana spears that pierced Malakath's legs and bound him in place. He grunted due to the pain, yet what came next would certainly be much worse. More and more discs, which were actually spatial portals, had been summoned in a large radius around him. Dozens upon dozens of them, it was truly marvelous, their combined powers were truly a sight to see. Endless rays of combined magic attributes, blasting at the magic knight in a seemingly endless barrage of attacks that seemed to last an eternity. Even from Calien's portals, he himself launched bursts of mana from them, before spinning them quickly, resulting in a spinning vortex of devastating power, all focused on the single, bare footed man that had boldly challenged the group.

Zephyr wanted to yell for the man, to see if he would actually emerged from the powerful combined attack like he had done earlier. But the boy already knew of his fate. Before even the mages noticed, Zephyr tried to hold unto faith, but how could he? Was it all a bluff?...His "Ki" was gone. Malakath was dead.

## Rebirth

The shockwaves that emerged from the result of the combined spells lasted several seconds, extending into the other rooms within the dungeon. While Malakath had scoffed at their claims of power, their display seemed to had proven him wrong. His body fell to its knees, before his face slammed into the ground. Grimoire still opened, Calien huffed, having used quite a bit of his magic power in those attacks, but it was worth it.

"That strange, half dressed idiot was annoying to say the least." He said. "But ultimately, Calien remains supreme, ehh guys?" He chuckled, as the other four walked closer to him, briefly ignoring the young boy who had seemingly vanished from the underground oasis.

"Is he really dead?" Bordo questioned.

"Yeah." A voice echoed from afar.

"Tch! The brat!" Calien turned towards the far end of the room, where the entrance to the treasure room remained. Unlike before however...

"He opened it! He really had the key!" Stiff exclaimed as he rushed towards the kid.

"Damn...I don't know who that guy was...But-" Zephyr clenched his left hand, in which he now held a gray-colored pole. On his other hand, a strange gem was also being clenched. "I can't just run like some coward!" He declared, a slight glow of aura enveloped his body.

"I will fight...Even if it means death!"

The mages stopped on their tracks, looked at each other, and burst out laughing. "Yo kid! Well sure, you wanna be brave?" Numa spoke. "Calien...we killed that loser too quick, we got too excited. Let's enjoy torturing this kid!"

Calien nodded, his eyes fixated on the strange staff the kid now held. "Did you get that from in there?" He asked, looking around and noticing the dungeon still remained in place. "Huh...seems like the main artifact still remains. Numa, wait. The kid has guts, The Black Dawn could use promising soldiers like him."

"Are you kidding me?" Stiff walked towards Calien. "A punk from god knows where can't possibly join us! Only Nox chooses who joins!"

Calien's eyes widened, a vein popping from the side of his forehead. "Are you questioning Calien?! REMEMBER YOUR PLACE!" Calien's magic power paralyzed Numa in place. It was the man's strength that held them together, something that they needed to be reminded of every now and then.

"M-My a-apologies. I didn't mean to overstep..."

Calien placed his hand on Numa's shoulder. Trembling, Numa lowered his head as his leader passed by him. "As Calien was saying, Nox would certainly appreciate a young recruit with such guts. Hey..." Calien withdrew his grimoire, and extended his arms in a sign of non-aggression towards Zephyr. "You really had the key the whole time, eh? Smart. Smart. Hand it over, and we'll take you to our boss. Alive, fed, and treated. Eh? Good offer, right?" Calien said as he slowly approached Zephyr, stepping over Malakath's lifeless body.

Zephyr lowered his head. His body was about to fall over, he didn't even know how he could still be standing. If he went against these monsters, he'd surely die. Accepting their offer seemed like the easiest choice. But he couldn't. Something within didn't allow him.

"N-Nah. F-Fuck off." He flipped Calien with his middle finger.

"Bahahahaha!" Bordo burst out cackling. "There you have it."

Calien sighed, placing his arms in his pockets as he closed in on Zephyr. He shrugged. "Oops, you saw through Calien. Numa was right in something, only he chooses who joins. Even Calien doesn't know where he is! HE comes to you!" Removing one of his hands from his pocket, he extended it towards Zephyr. "They key, and the relics. Give them now, and your death will be quick, boy."

The young man trembled. He had tried to act brave, defiant, but the truth remained the same. He was scared. Terrified. How had he even gotten involved in this? He really was going to die, without even kissing a girl! And much worse, he hadn't even tasted alcohol. And his dream...Dreams meant nothing for dead people. He would end up like that strange guy, helpless. A lifeless corpse on the ground in the middle of nowhere. He gave one last glance at the man's body, which was now standing up...

"Wait..." Zephyr uttered. "UUHHH!" He trembled even more as his eyes stared at the figure of a man who was supposed to be dead. Truly dead!

"**Soul Corpse Magic: Soul Recall.**"