Leviathan - Arc 5

Chapter 22
It took Nakuro and Haruka an hour to rush up to the place known as the 'Overlook'. It was a long, steep cliff, literally overlooking the entire 64th floor. You could peer down at the Great Rift, the massive stone mass that divided the floor into two parts, resulting in a gigantic wall rising up hundreds and hundreds of meters. The Overlook itself was a scenic place, nothing more.

Nakuro peered over the edge of the cliff, looking down at the floor. He could spot the West and East Pinnacle, the two field boss rooms he killed Terras and Corras in along with Flint and her guildmembers. He could even see the outlines of Sekitei in the far distance, amidst the windswept plains of grass and stone.

"Somehow I feel this level is the best so far." Nakuro inhaled loudly, turning back to Haruka as he walked over to her. "Really. I know I might say that with every new level, but this one is extraordinary."

Haruka simply nodded, more fascinated with her surroundings. The lands past the Great Rift were magnificently shaped, and all you could do is drop your jaw and behold its surreal image. Though it was significantly darker up here, the green crystals littered everywhere around them created a spectacle of lights in the dark. The soil felt oddly loose beneath their feet, almost as if a layer of ash covered the ground.

"Now to find your quest giver..." Nakuro muttered as he looked around.

"There's no one here though." Haruka mentioned as she quickly dashed around, trying to find any trace or clue to pick up on.

"It has to be hidden then." Nakuro said, tapping his chin. "It simply has to be. No other way."

"That or Akira was given false information." Haruka said.

"No... I don't question that anymore." Nakuro shook his head. "I've disagreed too many times, only to be proven one-hundred percent wrong. Not going there again."

The two shared a laugh as they started to scout the area intensively. The left not a single stone unturned. Every crystal thoroughly inspected. Every corner of the Overlook scoured. It was after roughly ten minutes that they both collapsed near eachother, desperate in their search.

"What are we missing?" Haruka moaned as she bumped her head into the ground.

"I dunno..." Nakuro said to himself as he looked up at the sky. Above him, nothing but dark shadows moved around the crystal stalagtites. His eyes pierced each and every single one, dancing from left to right. It had a miraculous feeling to it, capturing your gaze with a single glance.

Suddenly, he noticed something. An odd pattern.

"Haruka...?" He said as he poked her with his finger. "Lie down, look up."

"What?" Haruka asked, though she did lie down after Nakuro simply pointed upwards.

"It's... a... symbol?" Nakuro said ultimately, though with uncertainty.

"I recognise it." Haruka said as she got up.

"Oh?" Nakuro glanced up at her as he straightened his back, sitting upright. "What is it?"

"It's a runic circle. God, that we missed such a giant hint." She facepalmed as she started clearing out an area to draw.

"Runic circle- Wait, what's this all about?" Nakuro muttered as Haruka moved him aside. "This isn't some voodoo goofy nonsense, right?"

"No, no... Calm down, sheesh." Haruka rolled her eyes as she swiped the ground till it was evened out, almost like a flat square to work within. She started working, drawing lines with her fingers. Crude outlines started to form, till she started working on the inner circles.

"Alright, get me some of those small crystal fragments lying around." She asked as Nakuro got up.

"Sure." Nakuro nodded as he started looking around, picking up elongated crystals. They were lightweight, to his surprise, so he stuffed his pockets and ran back over to Haruka.

He sat back and watched Haruka place the fragments in the outlines, recreating the circle from crystal. It looked beautiful, almost like a generic work of art you'd find in a museum. It was crude and roughly shaped, but even still it looked amazing.

Haruka stepped away from the circle, and waited.

A minute passed by.

Still nothing.

"Ehr...?" Nakuro rubbed his neck, feeling slighly weird. "Now what?"

"...I dunno..." Haruka shrugged, making Nakuro fall back into the ground with disappointment. "Hey, don't give me that crap. I have no clue what I'm doing here."

"Well sure seemed like it!" Nakuro grumbled as he got back up.

"Arguing isn't getting us far." Haruka sighed as Nakuro wondered off, still bothered by the puzzle. "What if..."

Haruka stepped back into the circle, and looked up. Each of the stalagtites had a sharp point, jagged almost, capable of skewering a player in two were it to fall from above.

She opened her menu, and selected the shards of Ranothir. She counted the shards before placing one on every runic symbol she had recreated. Nakuro watched from afar, wondering if her attempt would work.

--- More to come ---