Equis Art Online

As the group flew over ALfheim, Kirito shivered a bit from the wind in his hair. He looked over at Yui, who was riding on Pina. He smiled, then called her over.

“Yui, are we close?”

“Yes, it’s that down there.” she pointed towards a large, ruined, gazebo-like structure in the middle of a forest. Kirito looked at the group, and as each member nodded, the group landed. As they split up to look around,  Kirito went straight to the doors in the back wall. What looked like half a sun and half a moon combined were emblazoned in gold and silver on the door. As the group approached, the doors remained sealed and unmoving. As Klein walked up to knock, there was a loud roar, and he stepped back in shock.

“Well, how are we supposed to get these doors open?” Kirito said, echoing the thoughts of every group member at the time. As the group members gathered up around him, Aries held up his hand to his chin in thought.

“Dunno.” Aries said. “Besides, that roar did not sound friendly at all.”

“So, what now?” Klein said. “Who knows what could happen!”

“We wait. For the moment, We should camp out here. I mean, it’s only Nine o’clock, so we have time.” Asuna suggested, and as they sat down, Kirito got a closer look at the door. Writing, or what seemed to be writing, was inscribed into the sun and moon. Four deer-like creatures, or sculptures of them, rested on four pillars that bordered the door. But the strangest thing was the feeling Kirito was getting as he approached. He felt at ease, as if all his worries had been washed away.

“Kirito? Is something wrong?” Silica said as she walked up, which snapped Kirito out of his thoughts. He sighed and turned to face her.

“It’s just confusing, Silica. I mean, we come all this way to a locked door, and even though the runes we got are supposed to give us entrance, it’s not opening.” he said, frustrated.

“I understand. I mean, all of us understand.” Silica said, and Pina crowed in approval. At that moment, there was a low rumble, and the pillars sent out blasts of energy. As the energy solidified, it turned into four stags. The blast of wind that resulted knocked over Silica and Kirito in surprise. As the two of them stood up while the group rushed over, the stags began to speak in a melodious tone.

“We bid thee welcome, fairy swordsmen. Eqigard bids you welcome. But, be warned. Peril and evil await you, as well as companionship. Harmony must be sought if you are to triumph in your journey. We four cannot venture beyond Alfheim, but you will find one of our emissaries beyond the gate. Now, enter the Terminus. Begin your journey.” they said in synchronization, and as they disappeared, the gate opened slowly. Klein quickly recovered from the shock and smiled.

“Well, that solves that. Let’s get going!” He said, and as the group voiced their approvals, Kirito turned around and faced the group.

“So, we’ve made it this far. We need to keep going. Let’s do this and get ourselves on the pages of MMO Tomorrow!” he said proudly, and everyone cheered. As they went through the doors, Klein sagged in disappointment. A large set of stairs spiraled down into a dark pit. The group hesitated, but as Kirito took the first step onto the stairs, torches suddenly lit up, illuminating the area. Kirito gestured to the group, and as they descended the stairs at at quick pace, Kirito turned to Yui.

“Hey, Yui. Where’s Eqigard in the world tree? I mean, I haven’t heard of it in any Norse myth at all, so where did it come from?”

“I’m not sure, papa. I’ve analyzed the data I was given when we won the drawing, but nothing. My one hypothesis is that it’s from the developer’s mind, meaning it’s fictional.”

 “I see. Anything else?”

“There is a boss on the final floor here, so we know it’s guarding something. Other than that, I don’t have much to give you, papa.” she replied, and Kirito nodded.

“Well, from what I know about this game, there’s always a mini-boss before each stage boss, so I wonder why we haven’t encountered one yet.” Aries said, and at that moment, they stopped at a large pair of double doors. As Kirito opened them, it gave way to a huge arena-like structure. What looked like worn stone seats circled the pit they were in. As the group entered, there was a low rumble that slowly grew louder.

“What’s that?!?!” Kirito said, and at that moment, a large gust of wind threw the group off balance, and the room suddenly became very warm. Asuna, thinking quickly, chanted a fire resistance spell. As the buff applied, there was a loud roar, and several large boulders dropped down from the ceiling. As the group tensed up, the boulders began to move. The boulders split and reformed into a clawed hand, then an arm, body, head, and legs. Then, a large pillar of flame dropped down, and struck the boulders clean in the middle, sending out jets of magma that covered the boulders. The magma then connected each boulder to the body. Blazing red eyes appeared on the head, and a mouth with jagged, black teeth formed. It roared, sending out flecks of magma in all directions. What looked like horns of flame came up next to the head, and it roared again, louder this time. Then, four HP bars appeared, along with a name and the boss marker.

THE FIREBORN-GUARDIAN OF THE EQIGARD TERMINUS

As the name appeared, it seemed to smile, before looking down at the group like a cat eyes a mouse. Kirito furrowed his brow. The group readied their weapons, as the Fireborn began to charge at them, spraying magma as it went. Kirito growled, then he launched himself at the creature, his blades ready to clash.