[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/mANp2vH.jpg?1[/img][h2][color=ffffff]THE RAVINE[/color][/h2][/center][indent][indent][indent][indent][indent][hr][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent]The threat imposed by one another wasn't the only thing that the Nexus' warriors would have to deal with while they entered the crevasse leading away from the arena. After crossing the narrow gap, they would arrive into a deep ravine where the sunlight was blocked almost completely by the steep, jagged walls.

If crossing a passage where the ones in front had almost complete leeway to decide what would happen with lagers wasn't bad enough in a normal situation, something worse happened not long after the first warriors set foot, wings, vines, etc. in those dark dwellings.

[url=http://supertomasse.s.u.pic.centerblog.net/kpmdeb1l.jpg]Gigantic scorpions[/url], whose reddish carapaces blended almost perfectly with the muted, earthy tones of the ravine's walls began to drop from above and surface from the rocks below in search of prey. Whether the champions of the Nexus would decide to fight the man-sized predator or not was up to them.

For those who made it out of the mortal ravine alive, a much more interesting surprise awaited...

[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/9e6uKpF.jpg?1[/img][h2][color=ffffff]THE NIGHTLESS OASIS[/color][/h2][/center][indent][indent][indent][indent][indent][hr][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent]As soon as any of the combatants left behind the great sandstone formation that was cut through by the ravine they would be faced with a sight only possible in the world as fractured and chaotic as the Nexus: The Nightless Oasis was bathed in a blanket of perpetual starlight very much like Ciel's Observatory. It had such a lush, and vivid wildlife that it was almost like stepping into the heart of a great jungle. Away from the forest, the nocturnal lights sparkled against the surface of the Oasis' main waterbody, a vast lake whose opposite margin was barely visible.

Beyond the lake, the orange glow of what must have been enormous pires, or similar source of light, outlined the ominous silhouette of the first of the two great pyramids as well as the four massive obelisks that guarded each of its sides.

A soft breeze blew by. The rustling of leaves made the nearly complete lack of any other sound in the Oasis, safe for some distant songbirds and bats' cries, all the more evident. However, that wasn't even what the warriors of the Nexus had to truly worry themselves with. No, the true danger was the very air whose soothing fragrance induced a feeling of wistful longing into anyone who indulged in it for too long. Such feeling would grow into a deep lethargy, and finally, sleep and paralysis if their stay was too prolonged.

To finish the deal, a [url=http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QMwjpjAfnfw/TFr3vQJJKzI/AAAAAAAAAoI/XjjLUR9y_C4/s640/stf22_progenitus.jpg]tremendously-oversized hydra[/url]—or perhaps it was more correct to call it an embodiment of nature's wrath— rose from the waters, challenging the courage any who dared come through the Oasis, in search of some fresh meat and bones to gnaw on.

The question that lingered in the air like the fragrance of the Oasis' flowers was whether or not the Champions of the Triumvirate were ready for this that wasn't even the "main event" of this conflict?