Is this really a Game?!

As she ran, the remaining chains protecting the artifact grew thinner and weaker. Reign continued to fend off the fake spirit, preventing it from interfering with Liara's advance. The red chains that had initially blocked Reign's attacks were now under immense pressure from Laura and Alistair's repeated strikes.

Liara could feel the strand of world energy within her, guiding her steps and filling her with strength. She knew that this was their moment of triumph, a chance to reclaim the artifact and restore balance.

The remaining chains finally snapped under the combined assault of Laura and Alistair. With a final, powerful strike, the last of the red chains disintegrated into smoke, leaving the Soulweaver's Monolith unprotected.

Reign took advantage of the spirit's momentary distraction and unleashed a devastating attack, sending the fake spirit reeling backward. It let out an anguished cry as its form flickered and weakened.

'Don't touch it right away, check if there are any more traps!' Reign quickly told Liara, who stopped at only about 3 meters away from the artifact. She took a deep breath and looked around whilst using her mana and the strand of world energy in order to see if anything weird was going on.

The spirit roared as it suddenly used its powers to make the monolith shake before it moved a couple of meters away. More chains appeared, and ethereal weapons and monsters appeared around Liara, attacking her.

[ Gravity Domain, Pull ]

[ Shockwave ]

[ Cleave ]

[ Lightning Spears ]

Right as the attack was about to fall down on Liara, Reign, together with Siggurd, Alistair, Laura, and Basred attacked, using their powers to destroy the attack and keep Liara safe.

'This bastard, it was making me think I am the one he is guarding against, trying to trick me into believing that I am the one that is the true danger to him, but it seems like he is much more focused on Liara now.'

'She truly seems to be the key, everything that has happened till now confirms it, everything.'

Reign narrowed his eyes and attacked the spirit while telling Laura and Alistair to continue attacking the chains.

Liara didn't stand idle either as she used her halberd and attacked the chains too. She was doing her best to help with destroying the chains and speeding up the process. After all, the longer the battle continued, the less of an advantage they would have as the spirit was still using the artifact to slowly increase his strength, as well as the strength of the guardians.

The battle raged on as Liara, Reign, Laura, Alistair, and their allies fought to destroy the remaining chains and weaken the spirit's hold on the guardians. The ethereal weapons and monsters conjured by the spirit's desperate efforts were met with overwhelming force, as they combined their powers to protect Liara and press forward.

Liara's halberd cleaved through the chains with precision, each strike shattering the ethereal chains that blocked her way to the Soulweaver's Monolith. She could feel the artifact's energy resonating with her, its power yearning to be harnessed for its true purpose.

As the last of the chains disintegrated, the Soulweaver's Monolith stood before Liara, unguarded and ready to be claimed. Its radiant light bathed her in a warm, comforting glow, affirming her role as its chosen guardian. 

Reign, his lightning-infused sword crackling with energy, focused all his strength on attacking the fake spirit. The spirit, now weakened and desperate, struggled to maintain its form. He smirked at it before glancing at Liara who was once again trying to confirm that everything was fine.

Suddenly, he created tens of lightning spears, which made the spirit clench his teeth before his eyes widened as Reign launched them all at the artifact.

'You two, attack the artifact, since we won't be able to destroy it, it's better to do that and check if there is anything the bastard has planted on it!' Reign said with a smirk as he glanced at the spirit that was clearly not expecting him to do such a thing.

Laura created a pentagram in front of her while Alistair extended his hand which already had a pentagram drawn on it. Multiple dark snakes suddenly attacked the artifact from his hand, each one being blocked by some invisible power around it that flickered with a red light.

The same went for the spears, but as they attacked, the barrier around it flickered more and more until Laura, with her arm fully demonic, punched the pentagram, sending forward a powerful ray of demonic energy that created a small hole through the barrier and hit the artifact, doing zero damage.

Reign smirked as he knew that it was only a matter of time before the barrier would be completely gone, and the artifact was theirs. The spirit was obviously shocked and attacked with full strength, doing whatever he could to stop them.

Reign was smiling and attacking the spirit, until he suddenly heard something in his head, which made his eyes slightly widen for an instant before his expression returned to normal. Thanks to the chaotic situation that was currently present, nobody noticed it.

He continued keeping the spirit away and attacking him while the others blasted the artifact with full strength. Liara was doing the same, even though her expression was no longer the same excited one from before.

As the barrier was broken, Liara's expression suddenly turned as her eyes went blank. She suddenly took a step forward and as she extended her hand towards the artifact, there was a sudden shift in Reign's determination.

Lightning blasted around him as light and darkness collided, with a loud bang, he swiftly moved to intercept Liara, his lightning-infused sword crackling with power. His movement was so swift that he managed to get between Liara and the artifact before she could make contact.

"Stop!" Reign shouted, his voice filled with urgency. He raised his sword defensively, blocking Liara's path to the artifact. His eyes bore into hers, and a sense of determination filled his gaze. "Liara, don't touch it. It's a trap."

Liara froze, her hand mere inches away from the artifact's surface. Her eyes widened in surprise, and she looked at Reign, her trust in him unwavering. "A trap? What do you mean … what … what was I doing?"

She glanced at her hands before Reign suddenly grabbed her hand and used his soul power to stabilize her. He could see how the vortex was once again active, trying to control her again.

'The souls I sent them did their job, they didn't notice that I planted some of my own power there in order to stop them if I needed to.' Reign thought as inside the vortex, the souls that Reign had sent exploded, causing the souls imprisoned to panic and be unable to use their powers to influence Liara at this moment.

'I had only done so in case something happens, it's good that I did, those bastards, to think they made such an elaborate scheme to trick us all.'

"So, mister spirit of the artifact, are you still going to continue with this little charade of yours?" Reign asked the spirit, which he now knew was the true spirit of the artifact. There was never any demonic influence that caused the spirit to separate itself, everything they had seen so far was a trick, nothing more.

"How?"

Reign smirked at the spirit before opening his mouth, "You see, demon hunters have this nifty thing of being able to sense demons and demonic creatures easily, I can do it too, but in order for me to do so, I would have needed to do the same as Laura and hit the artifact."

"The moment Laura had hit the artifact with her ray of demonic energy, she felt the true power of the artifact, she sensed the powerful demonic energy in it."

"Nothing here was ever influenced by demonic energy, the artifact was always a demonic one, the other dungeon wasn't there because you split yourself, it was the will of this world trying to use its power to banish you, but it failed to do so, it still managed to make you lose control of that dungeon, which allowed us all to come here."

"Of course, that is merely my speculation after going through it and seeing the tree that the will placed, and from your expression, it seems I am right."

Reign sighed and shook his head before glancing at the artifact.

"This entire time, you were playing a game, slowly making me and the others believe that Liara is truly the key to getting the artifact, you acted as if I was your enemy, the one person you couldn't allow to touch the artifact at first, then you switched to Liara in order to make me believe that it was just a trick."

"This entire time, you have done everything you could to make us believe that she needs to take the artifact, that she is the one that would wrestle control of it, but that was all so you could finally get in touch with the souls, the ones that further reinforced that idea."