Feud of Shadow

Feud of Shadow is a Raid Event scheduled to start on November 30, 2016 at 7:00 PM (PST) and end on December 6, 2016 at 6:59 PM (PST). It is the seventeenth episode of the Dark Stigma story and ninth in the Malice Canon storyline.

Half-time Reward Calculation Period is from December 2nd 6:00 PM to 6:59 PM (PST).

Feature Changes

 * PWR 25 UR as Highest Ranking Reward.
 * PWR 23 UR as High Ranking Reward.
 * PWR 22 UR as Ranking Reward.

Raid Bosses Skill Cards

 * Unfulfilled Shaol'ha (UR) Anti-Raid Boss Skill Card, obtained from the Oath of Survival Card Pack
 * ? (UR) Anti-Hidden Raid Boss Skill Card, obtained from the Oath of Survival Card Pack
 * ? (UR) Anti-Secret Raid Boss Skill Card, obtained from the Oath of Survival Card Pack
 * ? (UR) Special Evolution Card, Skill against all Raid Bosses of the event, obtained from the Master of Fate Card Pack

Prologue
With the monsters freed after disposing of their domineering queen, you continued your quest. More allies were yet needed if you were to confront Emperor Ildanev...

......

"Huh, what happened? How'd we end up here?"

None could answer Salvador's question. You all had been walking through serene, forested foothills mere moments ago, yet in the blink of an eye, a craggy wasteland under a dreary sky now filled your vision. Although the sudden shift was concerning on its own, the sound of war cries and stampeding feet rent the air. Two armies charged towards each other, poised to clash not far from your location.

"Hide before we get dragged into this!"

The three of you immediately dove behind a rocky outcropping, waited for the conflict to commence, then peered from cover. The struggle seemed to be between a race of dark elves and another bearing fairy-like wings, both fighting with terrible ferocity with neither side ceding an inch of ground.

"I don't know how, but looks like we ended up in the Sombrealm."

Salvador muttered with frustration. It was a name you had heard several times from passersby, a forbidden land restricted to supernatural beings and monsters. The two main races were a clan of dark elves called the Death Striders and the fae Duskwings. Rumor said their presence was to prevent interlopers from resurrecting a certain calamity, which shed a strange light upon the mutual hostility you were witnessing.

"We're still too close. We better back off while we still can."

Nodding to Salvador's suggestion, you turned to retreat, but not before discovering a young Duskwing maiden lying unconscious between the rocks. Her wounds were light, so you doubted she was in grave danger. However, before anyone else could react, Elimval ran to her side. When she stooped down to check her condition, she gasped in surprise.

"She's the mysterious enemy we fought in Mournia!"

Her announcement then brought you to a halt; the wispy moth-like wings on her back were indeed familiar. You hoped to avoid coming to blows again, but at that moment, she stirred and slowly opened her eyes.

"Oh... I-it's you... Allies of the Lightholders... Why... are you here?

Even in her weakened state, you did not let down your guard as she had given you much trouble during the previous encounter. Although she was mistaken about your affiliation, the fact she regarded the Lightholders as an enemy was currently an inconvenience.

"Us, Lightholders? You gotta be kiddin', lady. And besides, we don't know why we're here any more than you do. It's like we were summoned or somethin'."

"Oh, so you're not Lightholders...? But then that would mean..."

Yet before she could continue, you felt a bloodthirsty aura behind you. Whipping around, you saw a Death Strider woman approaching, her silver hair waving in the dry breeze. She was clad in armor that did not conceal the contours of her statuesque body, and her stern gaze and measured movements revealed her great combat talent, befitting one of high rank.

"Well, I must say I did not expect to see a Duskwing associating with outsiders."

"Glimrosa!"

A weak cry leapt from the weakened Duskwing's throat as Glimrosa continued to close the gap.

"And it is all the more ironic considering your kind rejected the Lightholders' request for aid, Shaol'ha."

Elimval looked at Shaol'ha with widened eyes.

"The Lightholders... came to you?"

"Yes... they visited both clans offering to help claim the Sombrealm as their own, but it was only the Death Striders who agreed."

"To be specific, it was our king who made the decision, but I stand by it wholeheartedly."

The Death Strider grasped the hilt of her longsword.

"No more will the Sombrealm be a lawless wasteland! His Highness Rughedar will unite it under his rule!"

In the next moment, there was a bright flash. You had not seen her swing her weapon, but your instincts alone allowed you to dodge her strike.

"So, you evaded that, did you? Then see about this!"

Glimrosa extended a hand and an entire armory of ghostly blades materialized around her before streaking forward like comets. With intense focus, you managed to parry each one while coming within range to clash weapons with her, each swing unleashing a shower of sparks.

"Hah, you are a warrior of true talent! This duel should be worth my while!"

She smiled expectantly, but after a few more strikes, she suddenly leapt away.

"I had hoped to enjoy myself more, but it seems the time has come."

At once, the ground trembled beneath your feet. Looking upon the battlefield, you saw the Duskwings begin to disperse as a new force arrived.

"Hero! It's the Lightholders!"

As the Duskwings ran from the Lightholders, a unit of Death Striders emerged on the opposite side to cut off their retreat and surround them. You found yourself included amongst the encircled.

"Cripes, I knew this was gonna happen..."

Salvador grumbled as he nocked an arrow to his bow amidst cheers of elated surprise from the Lightholders. It seemed they were aware of your presence.

"Bwahaha, we have you now, murderer!"

"General Glimrosa, leave the Stigma-marked miscreant and their cohorts to us!"

"Ah, so they are the ones your lord has been pursuing."

"The very same. They are but one of the reasons why we came here, for as you can plainly see, they cannot help intervening in situations beyond their concern."

The Lightholder captain then took note of your dubious expression.

"Bah, instead of stooping to the level of you ruffians, we obtained proper permission to enter this forbidden area!"

He signaled to the soldiers to prepare to charge once more...

"Kraaaaaaaaaah!"

But there was a sudden torrent of wind as a massive shadow descended through the opaque clouds and alighted upon the ground with a tremulous thud.

"It's the apocalypse fowl, K'bra! With it awoken, now our victory is assured!"

The Lightholder captain gloated over the appearance of the monstrous bird. K'bra opened its beak to howl again before releasing a stream of fire directly into the Dustwing forces, engulfing them.

"I would have preferred not to rely on such drastic measures..."

In contrast to the Lightholders' delight, Glimrosa's expression was apprehensive, and soon turned into abject fear.

"No! We must flee!"

However, it was already too late as K'bra shifted its aim towards the Lightholders, and more than half of their forces were caught into the blaze. Gut-wrenching wails resounded amidst the roaring conflagration.

"Kraaaaaaaaaah!"

K'bra continued unabated in its rampage, attacking everything in sight with its searing flames and sprawling feet.

"Over here!"

Taking advantage of the panic, Shaol'ha took you by the hand and ran behind another large stone and down a hidden passage leading underground.

......

"What in blazes was that?!"

"That was K'bra, the apocalypse fowl. Long ago, it was sealed in this land by the progenitors of both the Death Striders and the Duskwings who swore to prevent its return for all eternity."

Shaol'ha's face was still pale as she explained.

"Really? Then if you had always been so cooperative, why are you fighting now?"

"...It all started when an emissary from the Lightholders arrived."

Taking a deep breath, Shaol'ha recanted how the two factions were largely neutral in regards to the other until the latest king of the Death Striders came into power some months ago. He was unusually ambitious and wanted to unify the entire Sombrealm as proof of his authority. Naturally, such a proclamation brought unrest to the Duskwings.

Yet if he was the tinder, then the arrival of the Lightholders was the spark. They had presented an offer to the monarchs of both races to aid them in bringing the land under their own rule. Although both accepted at the outset, the fact the same proposal had been given to the other was not revealed until later. The queen of the Duskwings sensed foul intent and withdrew her favor, but the king of the Death Striders did not. And so began the unending warfare. Even with the Lightholders' aid, the Death Striders could not make appreciable progress against their rivals until they wrested control of Coop's Ravine from the Duskwings. It was where K'bra was being held, and they at once set to work undoing the ancient seal.

"Yet as you witnessed, they were unable to control it, for it as was passed down in legend, it knows nothing but destruction. And although its form is weakened due to its long dormancy, it is gradually returning to its full power by the moment."

"That's supposed to be 'weakened'?!"

"What will happen when it reaches its full strength?!"

Elimval and Salvador simultaneously shouted with astonishment.

"It will then be able to break through the barrier around the Sombrealm and spread further disaster. We must stop it before that occurs."

"Something tells me that's gonna be easier said than done..."

"Only its heart is vulnerable, but it is kept separate from the body."

"What?! Are... are you absolutely certain?"

Elimval's eyes opened wider. It was clear K'bra was not an ordinary creature, but not even you had imagined something so impossible.

"Yes, that was how our ancestors could quell it, and it helped ensure that no one would attempt to use it for evil. Our kind stood guard over the body, while the Death Striders protected the heart in Onyx Keep."

The beast was immortal, but even in its completed form, it would fall into a deep sleep if its heart were silenced, allowing both to be sealed again. Unfortunately, the Death Striders now controlled both K'bra's body and heart, and refused to relinquish them until the Sombrealm was theirs, even should it fall into ruin.

"Before K'bra can complete itself, we must hurry to the Keep and destroy the heart."

Shaol'ha looked at you with pleading eyes.

"Please, lend me your strength."

"And if we refuse, you're gonna try all by yourself, I take it..."

"Y-yes..."

She attempted to show her boldness, but her entire body trembled as a newborn calf.

"Well, I guess we don't got a choice, eh?"

Salvador patted you on the shoulder. Reluctant though he was, he seemed to be coming around to your altruistic habits, although this threat was too grave to ignore regardless. K'bra could not be controlled by anything in the Sombrealm, but it did not discount the possibility Ildanev could.

"...And I apologize for not realizing sooner you were our honored guests."

Shaol'ha spoke cryptically yet again.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Normally, nothing can enter the Sombrealm without the permission of one of the two monarchs, but there are two exceptions. One is someone with enough sorcery to tear a hole in the barrier. The other is a savior called to rescue the land from disaster."

She gazed towards you once more.

"I am a direct descendant of those who sealed K'bra, and I have been searching for others of the same lineage beyond the border to help, but I was spotted by the Lightholders while passing through a nearby city and they attacked..."

"So that's why you lashed out at us back then... Heh, figures..."

"I apologize for the misgivings, but when I watched you bravely fight Glimrosa, I knew you had been brought here to save us from ourselves."

Her trust and determination was plain upon her face. Even considering your tribulations, there were still others who needed help. Much about the situation that was unclear, but if nothing else, it was imperative you stop the gigantic terror.

"Then let us be off. To Onyx Keep."