Rise Online: Return of the Legendary Player



After the end of the second semi-final between Xanthea and Bloody Lily, the crowd that filled the Valkyria Arena was eagerly awaiting the start of the grand finale.

All eyes were on the two opposing entrances to the battlefield, with the vast majority of the crowd waiting for Kaizen to appear.

In the waiting room, Bloody Lily also kept looking at the door, waiting for her opponent to appear. However, he did not appear during the thirty-minute intermission that followed.

When the organizers finally called the players into the arena and the crowd fell silent, Bloody Lily stood up and walked to the small dark room where he would remain until the two were announced. Before leaving the waiting room, she looked back one last time, hoping to see Kaizen. She wanted to see him before the battle, to wish him good luck and tell him how much she cared for him. But he wasn't there.

She felt a tightness in her chest and a pang of worry.

Where is he? What happened?' Bloody Lily wondered.

Soon, she tried to push these pessimistic thoughts aside and focus on the battle. Knowing that fighting Kaizen would not be easy at all, she had a plan in mind, for Kaizen was strong and intelligent, not to mention that he had an impressive array of weapons and skills. In any case, Kaizen was a fantastic opponent, and even ignoring the relationship between them, Bloody Lily knew that there was no better opponent to face if she wanted to prove her strength.

With that in mind, she took a deep breath and entered the arena to the cheers and shouts of the crowd. She looked to the other side of the arena, expecting to see Kaizen with his mysterious mask and insulting smile, but there was no one there. The other railing was up, but no one but her entered the battlefield.

Everyone who was present in the Valkyria Arena or watching the live broadcast was confused. Where was Kaizen after all? This was the grand finale and he was supposed to be present even before Bloody Lily.

In the middle of the bleachers of the Valkyria Arena, there was a box with three thrones spaced apart from each other. These were the thrones of the three commanders of the three great human nations: Vrikhodour, Tretidian and Mibothen.

The King of Tretidian, Steveren Spelloyal, had light brown hair with a few gray hairs and a full beard. He wore a sophisticated crown, filled with diamonds, and a blue cape that bordered the ground. And among all the kings, he was the one who seemed most bothered by Kaizen's failure to appear immediately.

"Where is he?" Steveren inquired about Arthas, the faithful knight in red armor who stood just behind his throne.

Arthas leaned forward a little and whispered:

"There has been no information about him since he left the competitors' hall an hour ago."

Inevitably, Steveren had to nod, although on his face there was filled with displeasure.

One of the kings next to the King of Tretidian realized how nervous he was, so he smiled vehemently.

"Hahaha! Don't tell me you have a favorite, Steveren!" said a rather large man with very red hair and beard, and a loud voice. He was Oloneiros Mibothen, King of Mibothen.

"Don't disturb him like that, Oloneiros. We don't have any representatives at the end of this year." Walkul Dragonsbane, a young boy with red hair and green eyes, stated. He was the newly declared King of Vrikhodour.

"The young ruler is right, Olonies! Hehehe!" Steveren said, laughing in the face of the King of Mibothen.

The big red-headed man could not find the words to refute the two other kings, so he laughed loudly.

At the same time that the sound of Oloneiros' laughter filled the royal cabin, Ravastine and Lidia Spelloyal were waiting restlessly for Kaizen's arrival.

"He's going to show up, isn't he?" Ravastine inquired to her older sister who didn't have the answer to that, but still Lidia nodded.

The crowd in the Valkyria Arena was getting more and more impatient. The anticipation was great, and everyone was anxiously awaiting Kaizen's arrival. Comments about the player's delay began to emerge among the public, who were used to always seeing him arrive on time for battles. Kaizen's fans were waving their flags and shouting his name, while other fans were talking about the possibility that he had some accident or problem that might explain his absence. With each passing minute, the tension only increased.

The Bloody Lily, for her part, was worried. She knew that Kaizen was someone punctual and competent, and his absence could only mean something bad. She constantly looked toward the entrance of the arena, expecting to see her friend walk through the door at any moment. However, as time passed, the worry began to turn to frustration.

"Where is he?" she thought, clenching her fists. "Couldn't he have just dropped out without warning?"

Kaizen's absence was like a hole in the middle of the arena, and the audience missed him. Even fans of other players were curious about Kaizen's whereabouts and wondered how this would affect the final outcome of the tournament. Meanwhile, behind the scenes, the tournament organizers were beginning to worry. They knew that Kaizen had become an important player for the tournament and they couldn't just let him disappear like this. They began to search to try to locate him around the temporary border town and try to find out what was going on.

Tension only increased in the arena as the crowd anxiously awaited news about Kaizen. And Bloody Lily was still static on the battlefield, staring at the entrance and waiting for Kaizen to arrive at any moment.

…

Edited by: DrHitsuji

If you want to see original illustrations of Rise Online characters, consider helping me on pa treon: Pa treon.com/NandoFalske

More character images in:

https://discord.gg/bpqq9u4gS8

Like it? Add to library!

Don't forget to vote with Powerstone to support the book if you like it...