Fallen Fate Online

Zayne and Rea went to their rooms with strange facial expressions. Even though Rea was familiar with Reeves, his actions still surprised her, especially the way he cured Zayne.

\'Damn... This whole thing is strange, it wasn\'t like alchemy at all...\' Zayne inwardly muttered, looking at the blue moon rising over the mountain peaks, illuminating the entire academy.

Zayne stood in front of the mirror, staring at his body as well as at the cuts from which ice crystals were coming out, and frowned.

\'It\'s like I\'ve experienced surgery rather than getting help from an alchemist. Is that really how alchemy works in this world? Zayne pondered.

He shook his head and headed for the bed, not intending to leave Fallen Fate. It didn\'t matter which of the two worlds he slept in, and gradually more people realized that.

...

"Well, well, it looks like things are starting to change tonight, doesn\'t it?" Galahan muttered, looking at the huge plasma TV that had the nightly news on it.

In his hand was a glass with a spherical piece of ice and amber liquid shimmering over the walls while he shook the glass.

The news showed several incidents of bank robberies, store robberies, and criminal skirmishes in outlying parts of the city. That sort of thing wasn\'t common in and of itself, but this news was special.

"We don\'t know what it is." The girl presenter said seriously, pointing to a clip of two men fighting using flame and lightning attacks, "However, we can give you absolute assurance that this footage is real. What\'s going on behind my back is not a movie or a montage, as there is substantial damage left on the street after these men\'s actions."

Crackle. Crackle. Crackle.

There was a loud crunch as Galahan looked at Alex, who was unceremoniously devouring one cookie after another, scattering crumbs all over the expensive leather couch.

"You\'re not sorry?" Alex asked, not distracted from watching the news as much as from the cookies, popping one into his mouth.

"What do you mean?" Galahan muttered with a slight frown, looking irritably at the crumbs falling to the floor.

Alex broke one cookie in two, "This news report could have been run by Platinum Post, however, you didn\'t let that happen. What\'s the point? Sooner or later, everyone would have found out about it."

Galahan smirked, "Well, I just didn\'t want to be the first person the government would head to for questions. It\'s about to get chaotic, and in the meantime, I want to get some peace and quiet." Galahan said calmly, taking a sip of his favorite drink. He had tasted whiskey very many years ago, but he still enjoyed its taste as if for the first time.

"By the way, about the Chaos. Did you get your Chaos Coin yet?" Alex asked with a serene face.

Galahan nodded as he got a slight smile, "Thanks to you I was able to do it, though it was harder than I thought."

Alex shrugged, "From what I understand one of the most effective ways is to kill Oracle, but that would cause too many problems later. You\'ll literally be hunted down by anyone who knows how to hold a gun. However, you could just kill someone with Fate energy in their body."

Osvald raised an eyebrow, "Hmm? Why did we kill so many players then?"

Alex grinned, "Finding someone with a lot of Fate Energy is not easy in small villages. The monsters that woke up a couple of days ago don\'t fit, they seem to hate Fate even though they have its energy."

Alex stuck his hand into the packet to pull out another cookie, but he couldn\'t do it since he had already eaten it all. The inside was empty.

Alex inhaled, tossed the packet aside, and picked up a new one, opened it, and continued eating the cookies, seemingly having no intention of stopping. They were all the same with little flecks of chocolate inside.

"Damn... If I didn\'t know your past, I\'d never in my life believe what you\'re capable of... You look like an idiot." Galahan muttered with a deep sigh. Every crumb that fell on the floor glistening with cleanliness was a serious blow to him that he could hardly stand.

"It\'s just a night snack, nothing out of the ordinary." Alex shrugged nonchalantly, "About your question. I wasn\'t sure it would work, but killing the players was very effective. Had I known, I would have done it myself when I was trying to get my Chaos Coin."

Galahan, looked ahead with a thoughtful look, until he asked, "Alex... Were you able to get more information about Chaos Coin?"

Alex shook his head, "No, all I know is that when we get Chaos Coin our wounds are transferred to the real world, then, if we use Chaos Coin, we can use skills. It takes more concentration than in Fallen Fate, but it\'s not hard."

Galahan nodded as his face darkened.

"I guess we still don\'t know if it was a mistake or not. If we can die for real now, that\'s troubling." Galahan muttered, clutching the glass tightly in his hand.

Alex said nothing, he just watched the news, continuing to eat his cookies. For him, the answer to that question didn\'t matter, because after Fallen Fate became more than just a game, he began to take it seriously.

"I know the answer to that question." Suddenly an unfamiliar voice rang out, and Galahan grew wary. Alex remained unfazed. 

Crackle.

The doors leading to the elevator opened as a small silhouette stepped out. It was Alice, the girl Zayne had met in the store, who had also intended to recruit him to her.

"What the hell...?" Galahan muttered with his eyes wide open. Even though it was his apartment, he didn\'t know that he would have guests tonight.

Galahan looked at Alex, "You\'re in on this, aren\'t you?"

Alex nodded, and put the cookies aside for the first time in a long time. His gaze grew serious as he turned to Alice.

"I hope I wasn\'t wrong to let you come here?" Alex\'s eyes became sharp as blades, causing Alice to shiver slightly.

Alice shook his head, "Don\'t worry. I keep my word. For the opportunity to be here, I\'ve prepared a small gift for you."

Alice walked over to the table and pulled out some files from her bag, spreading them out in front of Galahan.

"What is this...?" Galahan was puzzled, looking at the files. Each one had a photo of some person, detailed information as well as several photos from different moments in their lives.

"All these people are dead." Alice said calmly as if it meant nothing. She looked at Alex with a frown, "Isn\'t there a chair for a lady in such a big house?"

Alex smirked, "Hah, I thought you were going to use your puppy for that, but it looks like he decided not to follow his stormy mistress this time."

Alex stood up, brought a chair for Alice, and with a wave of his hand bowed like a butler.

"Here it is, especially for you. Not all women get this much attention and care from me." Alex showed Alice, a mocking smirk.

Alice frowned, crossed her arms over her chest, and sat up, "Just so you know, I\'m a girl. I\'m only twenty-three."

Alex went back to his cookies, "Well... Age isn\'t always the right indicator, is it?"

Alice ignored him, she was annoyed by his smirk and the fact that he was eating cookies at the same time.

"Oh, tonight is really special." Galahan said with a wide grin as he placed a glass filled with whiskey on the table, sliding it towards Alice, "Alice Veko, I didn\'t expect you to decide to contact us."

Alice threw one leg over her friend, "The situation has changed quite a bit in the last few weeks. We all have to adjust, don\'t we?"

Galahan nodded, he understood what Alice was talking about, then he went back to the documents, "I don\'t know any of these people. Why did you bring this here?"

"Looks like you\'ve had too much to drink already." Alice said defiantly, "I came just in time, you were discussing whether it\'s possible to die after using Chaos Coin, and here\'s the answer to your question."

Galahan\'s eyes went wide, only now did he realize what was going on.

"Fuck... Now I can\'t call this a game anymore." Galahan muttered with a dark look.

Hardly any emotion appeared on Alex\'s face, it seemed that he was ready for such an outcome since it was obvious to him.

"Now let\'s get down to business." Alice became more serious, "You got a gift from me, I did a lot of work to get this data, and now I want something in return."

Alex grinned, "Go on."

"I want to form an alliance with you both in the real world and in Fallen Fate. I think you\'d be interested in that, too." Alice waved her hand, "You have money, influence over the masses, and access to information, and I have power."

Alice was an unusual girl, for since her teenage years she had begun helping her father who was a very powerful politician. For the last few years, her father became seriously ill, and now she was the one in charge of everything in the family.

"Yeah, it\'s true." Alex crunched a cookie.

"However, I want to talk to Zayne Fellen. You certainly know where to find him, don\'t you?"