A Story of Evil

On the second day of everyone's stay in Pentagon, just as the sun began to set, Sol decided to bring the whole team to Pandora's box. He got permission from the king first before doing this and, Jubilee was more than willing to allow him.

"I don't mind. I'm planning to build one on every domain after all." Were the words of the Void King as he gave Sol the permission.

Currently, the only members of the team to have trained inside this room are Sol, Alice, and Cain. They are also the only members of the team to have entered it. Sol's purpose wasn't to brag of course. He wasn't in the position to do so. He simply wanted to try something out with his teammates while, also showcasing the same facility which, as the king told him, was going to be handed to every domain soon.

Thus, right after they had their dinner, the group made their way to a single Pandora's box. It was weird for the newcomers of course because, the hallway was dark. There wasn't enough lighting on it; just barely enough for them to see where they were going. Aside from this, there was the fact that none of them could see any doors. They've been walking for a couple of minutes but, nothing of the sort was showing up. Just empty walls and a straight path.

That is, until they reached the dead end. Perplexing the other members of the group as Sol declared that, they have arrived.

"Sol I don't mean to be a bit disrespectful of your intelligence but...isn't there supposed to be a door here?" Nathan commented.

"Oh there is." Sol said with a smile on his face.

"Hahaha! That's right. It's probably on this wall correct?" Hendrickson suggested, feeling the wall before them which, offered him no hope.

"The door isn't something you'd find that way. It needs a special key." Sol said as he took out his crystal necklace as he added:

"Like so."

Nobody talked anymore. They waited for what Sol would do next because, admittedly, they didn't understand what was going on. That's why they needed Sol's actions to enlighten them. And that it did as Sol finally placed the crystal on the wall, creating the same reaction as on the first time he did so. With the lines of light scattering around the dead end, until they returned to the crystal and, finally began opening up a path.

As soon as this fully opened up, Sol turned to his team and said:

"Welcome to Pandora's Box."

The team didn't waste any time. They hurried inside to find a blank and empty room. This part was something which Sol told them already. And, without missing a heartbeat, this same person snapped his fingers. Changing the room into the Forgotten Forest. The same location where they encountered a dragon.

"Holy... so this is Pandora's Box?" Hendrickson said in bewilderment. He went to a nearby tree and punched it. Sure enough the branches shook and some leaves fell. Telling him that it was as real as it could get. Then there was the soil, he scooped some and, not only did he dig deeper into the ground. The texture of the soil as well as its warmth was accurate.

Jade and the others also began observing. The sky. The cliff. The range of trees and bushes in front of them. The smell of the forest as well as the heat of the sun. All of this felt so real that, they weren't even sure anymore if they were inside a simulation. 

"How was King Jubilee able to build this?" Jade asked the most sensible question. Knowing that none of the current technology they had should've allowed the Void King to do so. 

And of course this was the case. The only reason Pandora's Box existed was because it used the Seraphim as its catalyst. A creature capable of both instantaneous creation and destruction when in their normal condition.

But this wasn't the answer given by Sol of course. Pandora's existence was still hidden from public knowledge of course and so, the you paladin came up with an excuse. Something which he already crafted even before they came to Pandora's box.

"Well there was a time when the King went on an expedition outside the domains."

"Wait really? Damn, King Jubilee is really a badass."

"If by 'badass' you mean stupid, then I fully agree with you." Sol said in reply.

"Uhm…shouldn't you refrain from saying those things Sol?" Hendrickson replied in shock from what the male paladin said.

"Well it's true. He did the expedition before he got his powers and, even had all of his allies killed along the way. It was basically suicide and, the only reason he's still alive is because of a single stroke of luck. But…" The young paladin's voice trailed off. Looking at the same virtually created sky as he continued:

"...that same stupidity allowed all of our domains to come this far. My liege's choice might have been stupid, but I'll gamble on that stupidity instead of any logic."

"Not gonna lie, he had me in the first half." Nathan said as Cain also entered into the conversation. Coughing to get everyone's attention as he said:

"Anyway, we weren't brought here just to talk of that right?"

"Oh yeah. There's actually this." Sol said, snapping his fingers again and changing the scenery to the goblin camp they infiltrated. Specifically, to its last moments. When everything was already burnt and, a single creature stood in their way. Drazon the goblin king.

It was the very same creature. The appearance, the aura emitted, the dominance it exerted, all of these was the same. Even its height and the details of its armor were similar. That's why the group found it hard to believe that it was only a simulation.

That is, until Sol came up to the monster himself. The imitation of Drazon didn't respond to this. It simply stood still until Sol was at its side. With this same paladin tapping the leg of the monster; confirming that it was, indeed, simply a simulated version.

"If you don't mind. I want all of you to have a go with this guy." 

"The big boss?"

"Admittedly, in the last fight we were all out of mana. That's why it would've been difficult for you to handle him. But now that you're all well rested, I want to see how you'd deal with him."

"Sol it's not like I'm questioning you or anything but, what if we get seriously injured in this fight? Wouldn't that be bad?" Nathan asked.

"Oh you don't need to worry about that. We can stop the fight if it comes down to it. I can simply snap my fingers again and that monster would stop attacking. Plus, we also have a treatment room here. So as long as you're still alive when the fight finishes, we can heal you back up."

"Okay but, what about our domains? Won't they get angry if they see us beaten down during the ceremony tomorrow? We already marched around town and, the people have seen us so there's no excuse we could provide if we're battered tomorrow." Jade added.

It wasn't like they didn't want to fight it. In fact, the warrior in them was itching to have a go with the monster. But this same desire was being overruled by flame users' fear of king Nova. They knew that their king would be beyond furious if he saw them suddenly getting injured out of the blue. He has changed after all. Drastically. Wanting to protect all within his domain, no matter what the social standing is.

Sol read in between the lines and deciphered what they were actually trying to say. And it was true that he didn't place the fire king into consideration. That's why he tried rearranging the conditions to the fight. Thinking for a couple of seconds before he finally arrived at a better answer.

"Okay, how about this then. I'll considerably lower the difficulty of this fight. And like I already told you earlier, I'll stop it as soon as things get dangerous. It won't even be that difficult for me to do so with my [Spatial Awareness]." Sol explained, covering every hole in the problem. And because he did, Hendrickson finally stepped up – unsheathing his sword in excitement.

"Why are you all backing out. This is a good chance for us to test our skills!" The big man announced, and strangely enough, him agreeing to it made it even more difficult for them to refuse.

"You just had to run that big mouth of yours huh." Nathan said. 

"Come on. You guys want this as much as I do. So quit all the sissy talk and let's get it on!"

"Should I take that as a yes then?" Sol suggested and, because nobody gave a response, Hendrickson shouted in cheer as he began his claymore's engine.

"We'll be taking turns. You have exactly thirty minutes to defeat that thing. Anything more than that and I'll be stopping the fight." Sol instructed as Hendrickson stepped forward, With Drazon's eyes finally getting animated as it screamed. The same tone it used on the fight it had with Sol.

"Thirty minutes? Ha! I'll finish this in fifteen!" The proud steel user announced. 

"Still as cocky as ever I see. Very well then, let's see what you've got Rick." Was Sol's response as he finally stepped back. With Drazon fully activating as the fight began.