Affinity: Chaos



When they appeared on the next stage, the duo stood on a platform, array lines drawn on the ground. 

Jonas was not good with arrays, he couldn't help but turn to Grey, "Do you have any ideas with arrays? I'm not good with it." 

Grey studied the array for a while, there was a slight difference between it and the normal one he was used to, but they were basically the same. All he needed was some time to get used to it and he would be able to deal with it, hopefully. 

"I can try. This array is different from what we know." He replied before squatting down and studying it. 

He closed his eyes to get a better view of it in his mind while sensing the array with his spiritual senses. 

Grey took his time to study the array, feeling every part of it. After some time, he brought out a small piece of paper and started drawing lines on them. He would occasionally pause and give a thoughtful expression before removing a line and changing it with another. 

Jonas watched as Grey got fully immersed in trying to break the array. He knew Grey was an Inscriber, but he didn't know if he was well versed with arrays. 

Almost one hour went by without Grey making any movements, he was still studying the array, and only after a few more minutes did he stand up. 

"Take a few steps back. This is a trap array. I'll see if I can break it." He said to Jonas. 

Jonas didn't argue and moved to the side, standing behind Grey, subconsciously. 

Grey spread out his spiritual energy and started to work on breaking the array. If he could break it in one go, he would be really impressed with himself. His first attempt, just like his expectations, was a failure, and there was also some sort of retaliation from the array. 

Jonas looked at Grey with an amazed face, even though Grey had never seen an array like this before, he was able to figure out which type it is and how to work on it. Although he hadn't broken it now, Jonas felt some confidence from his first attempt. 

Grey waited for a few more minutes, and after sorting out some things, he started working on the array again. This time, he showed considerable progress, but he ultimately still failed to break it. 

The signs the array was showing were not good ones. 

'It has a limit. I can't make more than four attempts. Two already failed. If I miss this one, I must get it right on the next and final attempt.' He thought to himself when he sensed something new in the array. 

It was well hidden that if he wasn't trying to break the array, and was also very careful while doing it, he would never have sensed it. 

The pressure on him was larger compared to before. He originally thought there was no limit, but now that he understood that there is a limit, he knew he had to make sure he was successful, or at least get past eighty percent during the next round. 

He had been able to break approximately forty percent of the array, and still needed to understand the last sixty percent. However, the further he goes with breaking the array, the more complex it gets. This array was constantly changing, almost like it is alive as it makes itself more difficult to break. 

Grey didn't rush with the next attempt, he made some small scale arrays on a plaque and started to see if he could do the same with them. These arrays were almost like this, but Grey hadn't been able to understand how it continues changing. If he could understand that then breaking the array would be very easy for him. 

He took his time, but he was still unable to create an array like that. Thinking of it, he decided to attempt breaking the array. It would make it easier to understand the concept behind it after breaking the array, this was something he was very much aware of. 

With a deep breath, he started to work on the array once again, this time, he was even more cautious. 

Jonas could almost feel the pressure Grey was on, even without knowing what was happening, he could tell there was a difference in Grey's attitude towards breaking the array compared to the last time. 

Grey was very meticulous with it and it took him twenty minutes before he failed once again, but this time, he managed to get to around sixty five percent, and the retaliation of the array was getting stronger. Only with the help of everyone except the bunny leader were they able to block it. 

Grey's expression was not too good. The reason for this was that there's still about thirty five percent left and he only saw an increase of five percent, even with all his meticulousness. 

He took in a deep breath, calculated what he had done so far and brought out another plaque. This time, while creating the array, there were signs of it showing the same attributes of this particular array he was trying to break. Nevertheless, he still didn't understand the concept, so there was no way to make it look like this one. 

He calmed his mind and waited for almost one more hour. I think you should take a look at

"If I can't break it this time, I'm sorry but we'll be out of attempts." Grey turned to Jonas. 

"It's okay, at least you tried." Jonas didn't feel worried about it. 

He was the one who suggested they came here, Grey has obviously been trying his best. If he's unable to break the array, even after so long, then maybe they were not supposed to enter this place. 

Grey nodded when he saw his reaction and decided to attempt it once again. The tension in the atmosphere was very clear. 

Jonas was on the side, hoping that Grey was able to break it. 

Time went on and he saw Grey slowly breaking the array. It continued to increase, seventy percent, seventy-five percent, eighty percent. 

At the time it got to eighty percent, the signs of slowing down started to show on the array. There was only so little left to break, but it felt like a large mountain. 

Jonas could hardly breathe as he watched on. It soon moved, getting to eighty-five percent before halting again. 

Grey was sweating, slowly breaking the array. He didn't try to rush it since it wasn't appropriate. 

He took it slowly, even going slower than he previously was. 

Before long, he had gone to ninety percent and the progress halted once again. 

Jonas looked on weakly. He was on the verge of almost wanting to give up, but seeing just how close they were, he didn't want to lose this opportunity to see what lies inside this place. 

Grey, who hadn't said anything all this while opened his mouth, "Get ready, I think I found a loophole in the last parts of the array, but I'll need your help."

"Alright." Jonas didn't ask what he had to do, but prepared himself. 

Grey explained his task to him, and it was just as he expected. He had to attack the array at the time it was going to retaliate. All this while, they had been only blocking it, never did they try to attack it. It wasn't that the thought had not crossed Grey's mind, but he knew it was completely useless. 

It soon got to ninety five percent and the array had started to show signs of instability. 

"Now!" 

Jonas saw the array and unleashed his domain, sending out a powerful stream of fire, while also sending out fire arrows. 

An inscription appeared in the air and a large black spear was sent at the same spot Jonas was attacking. 

Grey focused on stabilizing the array, but he knew he could not go past this level with this attempt. Unless this loophole he found works, they have failed the stage and would leave here with nothing. 

The explosion from the attack died down and both Grey and Jonas looked at the place with serious eyes, the next thing they saw was a large figure standing on the spot their attacks landed. Although they couldn't see it properly, they saw its shape. 

"Damn it! It has a defense mechanism!" Jonas complained. 

Grey was still keeping the array stable, so he knew their attempt was a failure. However, the appearance of that figure confirmed his guess, they could use that way to break the array, if not, this figure would not have appeared.

"Attack it, don't let it disrupt me." Grey said when the figure started to walk in his direction. He turned to look at Void, "You too." 

Void stood up from his lying position and disappeared. The figure walked out of the explosion, and everyone saw what it was, an Elemental Warrior.