Chapter 215 Empire



Over the course of playing Fallen Fate Online, there had been many changes in Zayne's life, most of which were significant.

Thanks to the help of Gael and Alex, his sister was in no danger. It was only a matter of time before he would be fully treated and able to live as a normal human being, which was a dream for both of them.

However... When a person achieved a goal, his journey didn't end, but instead, new goals appeared that he tried to achieve. That was roughly what Zayne was going through right now.

In fact, he could already relax, and just earn some money to live with his sister, peacefully and quietly.

Even in the new world where everyone was now aspiring to become Players or Travellers, money was important, and with his skills, he could easily live without fear of anyone harming him or Mia.

However, his mindset had changed, now that he didn't have anything to worry about, he didn't have global problems to solve, and now he wanted a challenge.

Zayne wanted to find out what he was capable of and what he could accomplish in the new world. He wanted to study Fallen Fate and understand the nature of Fate and Chaos since he was already involved with them as well as Moon Shattered Order.

He had been through serious battles before, especially the battle against Enar, but now he had the opportunity to do something like this without risking his life. 

Even if Zayne wanted to test himself, he didn't want to constantly be on the edge between life and death, something like this was only supposed to happen in critical cases.

The tournament was a great opportunity to do that and Zayne was going to take advantage of this opportunity, so he listened to Solomon very carefully.

"Anyway. This year's tournament will be called the Azure Streams Tournament. It's a tribute to Fate and Fate Knight who participate in the tournament every time." Solomon explained with a calm look.

Zayne nodded, "Get it. However, isn't this a tournament for the younger generation? You have to reach First Ring to participate in it, but there should be restrictions, right?"

Solomon smiled, "Sure. If you reach Second Ring now, no matter what path, you can no longer participate in this particular tournament. There is a tournament of its own for those who have reached the Second Ring, but it's not as significant as the Azure Streams Tournament."

Rea joined in the conversation, "It is believed that there are always some real geniuses hiding among the newcomers, so this tournament is needed to reveal them. Of course that has many advantages."

"Hmm?" Zayne gave her a questioning look.

Rea sighed, "You might get noticed by someone, the head of some organization, maybe a teacher of my father's level decides to take you on as an apprentice or the Noble Family decides to invite you into their service. Sometimes, you might even be invited to join the Empire's army with a quick promotion to officer. However, that rarely happens."

"Hmm? Army? The Empire? I didn't know about that. Tell me more!" Zayne's eyes sparkled. He was interested in learning more about the world he was now going to practically live in, at least in Fallen Fate Online he would be spending most of his time. That was for sure.

"Khm." Solomon coughed, "We've gotten a bit off-topic, but if you want I can explain the situation to you. Everyone knows it, even a child, but considering you're a Traveller it's no surprise."

Zayne nodded vigorously several times.

Solomon smiled, "Anyway. You know we're in the Lax River Region now, right?"

"Yeah." Zayne nodded, "However... Even though I've been to Red Feather City, I haven't seen this river itself yet. Where is it located?"

Solomon shook his head, "There's nothing surprising about it. Since Lax River is not near any town or village. It is surrounded by nature, serenity and peace. However, this does not mean that there are no people there. It is the Lax River that shows travelers the way to the empire."

Solomon continued, "By following the Lax River you will reach the largest waterfall in our territory and reach the Tergaron, the capital of the Empire of Shining Hopes!"

"Empire of Shining Hopes..." Zayne muttered in disbelief. He didn't know why, but as soon as he heard it something changed inside him. He felt strange, a little ironic, and fateful that the empire in the world that changed his life was called that. After all, before Fallen Fate Online, he had no hopes, but now he was ready to conquer the entire world!

"Yep." Rea nodded, "Red Feather City is really big, but Tergaron is definitely much bigger. I mean... Red Feather City is within the empire's territory just like our academy, you know."I think you should take a look at

"Sure. It makes sense to me. In fact, things were the same in our world before it collapsed. We had empires too, big cities and villages." Zayne said calmly with a slight smile on his face.

Rea glanced at him then she nodded with her arms crossed on her chest.

Zayne hesitated as he touched his chin, "Hm... Wait, if we are all in the territory of the Empire of Shining Hopes, then there must be something else, right? I mean, something that is outside of the empire."

Solomon nodded, "Yeah, our continent is covered by a vast ocean on the north, west, and south sides. However, to the east, there is a land that the Empire of Shining Hopes has been unable to conquer for centuries. In fact, this territory is a real threat to the entire world."

Zayne frowned, "Hm? What does that mean?"

Solomon sighed, even though he was talking about something like that, he didn't look serious or tense.

The fact was that every resident of the Fallen Fate had long since come to terms with it, so had the warriors of the Empire like Order. For them, it was an integral part of life that they had learned about as children, some at the academy, some simply from stories on the streets of the city.

"Chaos... It's all about it, or rather who uses it. To the east are the Dark Lands. It's the most dangerous and unfriendly place in our entire world." Solomon took a deep breath, "Comparatively speaking, it's like a dark alley that is in any big city. Going there you'll only meet trouble, threats, or maybe even death."

Zayne nodded. He knew what Solomon was talking about, as he himself had lived in such a place almost his entire life. Of course, his world didn't have bandits with daggers like the ones he'd met at Dry Tree, but the problems were similar.

Also, when he was in Red Feather City, he accidentally wandered into one of those alleys where Andre and Tina had attacked him.

"I understand that the Dark Lands is where most of the Apostles and Chaos followers are, right?" Zayne asked with a serious expression as he stared at Solomon.

Solomon nodded deeply, "Yeah, you're absolutely right. However, don't forget that there are just as many of them within the empire. Our empire covers most of the continent, so obviously there are many places where they can hide."

At that moment, Rea's face darkened.

"Is something wrong?" Solomon immediately noticed it.

"No... Although, perhaps yes..." Rea muttered, "Don't mind me, I just remembered that we were attacked by Apostle even though we were not far from Red Feather City... Doesn't that mean they could be hiding even in Tergaron, right in the capital...?"

Solomon didn't bother to answer that question, he just made a complicated expression. Everyone here was an adult, although Solomon was much older than Zayne and Rea, they all understood what the answer to this question was.

"So... The Empire is fighting Chaos, but still can't conquer the Dark Lands, right?" Zayne asked. He looked like he was worried, but really he was just curious.

Unlike Solomon and Rea, who had lived in the Empire of Shining Hopes all their lives, he had only just learned of its existence, so now he mostly didn't care about the fate of the empire.

Solomon nodded, "Well since you asked, I'll tell you something. Actually, in the last few years, the Dark Lands have started to expand. Nothing catastrophic has happened, but a couple of towns that used to be under the Empire's control are now part of the Darklands."

Zayne's eyes went wide, "And... What happened to the people of those cities?"

"I don't know." Solomon shrugged, "Perhaps one of the army generals has such information, though I doubt it."

Rea looked at Solomon worriedly, "Father... Do you think they all died?"

Solomon sighed, "I already said I don't know. The Dark Lands are different from ours because there are more monsters, natural disasters, and anomalies because of the chaos energy. It's a damn dangerous place, so... even if none of the Chaos followers attacked the cities, they could have been destroyed by some monster. But it's possible it didn't. No one knows."

Zayne and Rea nodded deeply. This was hard information for both of them.