[color=a187be]"My name is Athena. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your group. It is a pleasure to meet you all."[/color] Athena said, introducing herself to her new party members in the formal style of her ALO persona. 

While the other party members chattered on with small talk, Athena chose to keep silent instead, focusing her thoughts completely on the boss battle ahead, her mind already working methodically to form battle strategies. The party composition was fairly standard for a dungeon raid party, except the absence of a dedicated healer, which only made her own situation worse, with no healing potions left in her character's inventory. Athena had decided against asking her party members for potions. If they'd learned that she had neglected to prepare herself properly for a boss battle, she was sure that they would have refused to let her into their party.

[i][color=a187be]Remember why you're here, Athena. Let that be your strength for the upcoming battle.[/color][/i] She thought to herself as she fought to hold back her own uncertainties brewing in her thoughts. Her reason for playing ALfheim Online, to become the persona known as [i]Athena[/i], was to become everything that she couldn't be as [i]Natsuki Kawaguchi[/i]: bold, confident, fearless, and untouchable. 

What made ALO special compared to all other VRMMOs was the absence of the typical leveling system that only served as a barrier against new and experienced players. In other words, the world of ALfheim Online was [i]fair to all[/i]. There were no elites or low classed individuals. Anyone who had the will and effort to become stronger had the potential to challenge even those who were considered the most powerful. Once the Salamander race was widely reputed to be the strongest race in all of ALO, but eventually the combined efforts of the Sylphs and the Cait Siths were enough to overcome what was thought to be an indisputably indomitable power. This meant only one thing to Athena - that she too had the potential to overcome everything that held her back in the "other" world. This was why she couldn't give up now. 

[i][color=8882be]If I can't even overcome something that is designed for the sole purpose of being defeated by the hands of players, what is the reason for my existence as Athena? That is precisely why I can't fail now.[/color][/i]

Before long, Athena found herself and her party members standing within the great halls of the boss room. The other players in the dungeon were pouring through the entrance doors, the clacking sound of their body armors echoing throughout the halls of the dungeon. As all the players moved into position in preparation for the boss monster's appearance, Athena's sense of hearing picked up what seemed to be a faint [i]thump... thump... thump...[/i] of a monstrously deep heartbeat within the darkness of the vast room. As the drum-like beats became more clear and distinct, it became impossible to determine the source of the sound as it echoed from every surface of the room. It was as if the entire room was a monstrous being's heart.

Athena instinctively took a step back as she withdrew her longsword from its sheath, and raised her shield to a defensive stance, preparing herself for whatever was to appear. 

What first emerged from the blackness was a single arm on the stone floor, bloodied and pale, then another. The number of arms multiplied in numbers until what seemed to be a grotesque mass of bloodied corpses emerged into sight, towering above the players gathered before it. For a single moment, the [i]thump[/i] emanating from the gruesome looking monster synchronized with her own heartbeat.

[color=ed1c24]"Don't die..any of you."[/color] Athena heard Arina speak in a low mutter beside her.

[color=a187be]"Dying is something I don't plan on doing today. Come, let us make this monster fear for its own life."[/color] Athena replied in encouragement, both to her party member and to herself. Turning to face the monstrosity, she raised her sword in spell-casting stance and closed her eyes briefly.

"[i][color=a187be]Ek heimta kraptr berserkr drengr.[/color][/i]" Athena spoke in a perfectly practiced and rhythmic pattern as she recited the Words of Power to the [i]Berserk[/i] spell. With the completion of the incantation, a sudden burst of flame appeared from Athena's feet, enveloping her with the fiery aura of the [i]Berserk[/i] visual effect. Athena opened her eyes once more, with all trace of fear and hesitation removed. In any other situation, the use of of the [i]Berserk[/i] spell would have been an incredibly unwise action, especially in a boss battle situation without any healing support. However, the only thought running through Athena's mind was the unconditional defeat of the monster before her. If she was fated to be defeated by this monstrosity, she would do so while fighting at the peak of her ability.

As the other parties shouted their battle cries and launched their assaults against the towering behemoth of flesh and arms, the monster began raising its massive bladed weapon in preparation to attack. With a sudden burst of speed, Athena launched herself into battle, throwing herself into a roll underneath the boss' cleaver weapon as it broadly swung horizontally at the players. Recovering from the roll, Athena unleashed a counter-assault of her own at the monster's exposed mass of flesh, viciously slashing into the monster's sides while it left itself vulnerable with all the strength her character had at its disposal. With her [i]Berserk[/i]-enhanced strength, it was a matter of seconds before the monster's AI would suddenly shift its attention towards her attacks.