New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live



Galtion rushed toward the party that was healing, not even bothering with interfering with Astaroth, as the demon knew it needed no help.

Phoenix thought about incinerating his body, severing the strings controlling him, but she also held back from doing it. The death penalty for her killing him wouldn't be a small one, and it would put him far behind his party's level, transforming him into a burden.

The Fey man in the party lightly coughed to get her attention.

Phoenix first grabbed the charging Galtion, pulling his spear into a spin, and flinging him away like a rag doll, making sure she didn't throw him into any wall or structure that might deal damage to him.

"What is it, Chronos?"

Phoenix could read the name above his head, now that they were in the same party.

"I know a way to stop him for a moment, but I think it would be better if we stopped him inside this healing circle. I think we can break the control the demon has over him if he is conscious."

Phoenix eyed the unconscious dragoon, who was already darting back toward them, and guessed there was no harm in trying. She backed into the healing circle, opening a path in the firewall she had conjured, and forced the other party members to back away a bit, so they were not in the way.

Galtion was still target locked on them, his spear pointed at Food Goblin, as he charged forward. When he reached inside the healing circle, his body jerked slightly, like it was being electrocuted, but he continued forward.

Phoenix batted his spear tip away before it impaled Food Goblin, and hurriedly pinned Galtion down, feeling he was resisting with strength much stronger than he should be capable of.

Phoenix wasn't a strength-oriented character, and she was already feeling her grip slip on the dragoon player, as his body was trying to get upright once more. But just as she was about to get thrown off, a heavy green Orc slammed into Galtion's back, dropping him back onto the ground.

"Let me help you!" SharpTusk growled, feeling responsible for the situation they were in.

Had they listened to Chronos, when he told them they shouldn't come in here, they wouldn't be in this terrible position.

It was too late to regret, though. They could only adapt and try to survive with all their might.

Phoenix nodded at him, thankful he chimed in. As soon as SharpTusk applied all his might in pinning down Galtion, the unconscious dragoon became no better than a flailing child, unable to get free from his powerful grip.

Slowly but surely, Galtion's health pool started refilling itself, causing the unconscious human to gain back consciousness.

"Urgh… My head. What is going on? Why do I feel like someone barrelled me through a brick wall? And why is SharpTusk sitting on my back? And who are you?!"

Galtion's questions went unanswered, as Phoenix was already looking at Chronos.

"What next?" she asked him.

"I can hold him down for a minute. We need to figure out how to break the demon's control over him in that timeframe. Can you do that?" Chronos asked Phoenix.

She frowned at him.

"I'll figure it out."

Chronos nodded his head, his eyes suddenly glowing golden. He outstretched his hand forward, grabbing something unseen to all but him.

As soon as his hand closed, Galtion felt his whole body freeze up, suddenly locked in place, as a debuff appeared over his health bar.

*Time Locked*

Your body has been forced into a temporal stasis, and you can no longer perform any actions until the duration has expired.

**

Galtion watched in horror, as even his mouth couldn't move. His brain still functioned fully, and he could think and feel, but couldn't move.

Already, sweat was forming on Chronos' forehead, as this was something he had rarely done up to now. He was still experimenting with the full breadth of his powers, and this was only one thing he had discovered that was possible for him.

Feeling him stop struggling, SharpTusk let go of Galtion, wondering what came next.

Phoenix was already on her feet, her mind working overtime, trying to figure out a way to break the control the demon had over the player. She could feel the threads of demonic mana attached to Galtion's body, but since she couldn't see them, it was hard to find out where they connected and sever their connection.

Lacking an option in finesse, Phoenix opted for brute force.

"Luna! How much healing can you give him if you focus on him alone?"

Luna tilted her little head to one side, unsure of the answer to her question.

"If I concentrate the sanctuary only on him, it might triple the regeneration speed. Why?"

Phoenix nodded her head.

"Do it," she told Luna.

Then she turned her head to Galtion.

"I don't know if you feel everything right now. But if you do, I'm sorry. This is going to hurt like a bitch."

Panic flashed in Galtion's unmoving eyes.

Phoenix lit her hands on fire, before pointing them at Galtion. Once the Moonlit Sanctuary had reduced in size until it encompassed only Galtion, Phoenix winced in disgust with herself, before unleashing hell.

Two power tongues of fire blasted out of her hands, turning Galtion's backside into an inferno, as his armour quickly melted away before his skin started sizzling and bubbling. SharpTusk watched in horror as his friend's back turned into carbonized meat, with nothing he could do.

Galtion couldn't even scream his pain out, as tears formed in his eyes, rolling down his cheeks. If Chronos hadn't time-locked his body, he would have already fainted from the pain.

But as his luck would have it, that was not the case.

The rest of his party watched on in shock, as their vice guild leader was turning their ally into a pit roast. The regeneration effect was keeping his body from being entirely consumed, which only seemed to make matters worse.

But Phoenix felt a mana thread snap, and she knew they were on the right path. She only hoped the player wouldn't die in vain before she succeeded.

'I'm sorry, Galtion. I don't know how to fix this otherwise…' she thought, miserably.