The tomb was suffocating. Even through the digital interface, I could almost taste the damp air, thick with the scent of moss, rotting wood, and decaying corpses. The developers had outdone themselves in crafting this grim atmosphere—it felt oppressive, alive. Undead creatures shuffled aimlessly, littering the corridors like vermin. I carved a deliberate path through them, my sword singing with every swing. Each strike replenished my mana through Dark Pact: Stamina Drain, ensuring I remained fully prepared for whatever lay ahead.

This time, I wasn’t rushing. No chance I’d let anyone loot-snipe me after all I’d done to get here. The Crossbones Guild had a reputation for dominating high-value zones like this, and if they caught wind of what I was after, they’d descend on me like vultures. I stayed cautious, moving through the tomb’s labyrinthine passages with purpose.

As I ventured deeper, the faint sound of voices reached my ears. Players. I ducked into the shadows, activating Ethereal Step to blend with the dim environment. My heart raced as I listened.

"Skullhead said he’ll be here shortly. What do we do if other noobs come down here?" one of them muttered.

"They get PK’d—what else?" the other replied with a low chuckle. "You’d have to be stupid to come into the tombs while we’re here."

Idiots. They thought they owned this place, but their overconfidence would be their downfall. Peering from the shadows, I assessed the situation. Two players: one a light-armored cleric wielding a staff, the other a straightforward fighter clad in heavy gear. They were blocking the archway to the boss room, their presence radiating smug complacency. I had to decide—sneak past them or take them out.

The answer was obvious. I wasn’t going to risk Skullhead—or anyone else—showing up while they still breathed. They hadn’t seen me, which gave me the upper hand. Two against one wasn’t ideal, but with my new abilities and gear, I was confident I could tip the scales in my favor. I set my sights on the cleric first. Take out the support, and the fighter would crumble.

I prepared Arcanic Blast: Cone Shape and aimed at the cleric. With a flick of my wrist, dark energy erupted from my hand, a wave of shadow and elemental fury roaring across the room. The blast struck true, slamming into the cleric and throwing him off his feet. He screamed, clutching his chest as his health bar plummeted.

Before the fighter could react, I stepped into the fray. My blade met his in a furious clash, sparks flying as steel scraped against steel. He recovered quickly, pushing me back with a heavy swing of his broadsword.

"Think you can take us, huh?" he snarled, lunging at me with a powerful strike.

I sidestepped, activating Switch Hit to feint a strike from my left hand before seamlessly swapping to my right and delivering a sharp counter. The blow sliced through his defenses, triggering the bleed effect from my Adamantine Sword of Epic Wounding. Blood sprayed, and I grinned as the debuff icon appeared above his head. The fighter roared in frustration, swinging wildly now, his movements erratic as he tried to regain control.

Meanwhile, the cleric was staggering to his feet, fumbling with a healing spell. Not on my watch. I unleashed Arcanic Blast: Chained Enemy, the energy leaping from the fighter to the cleric in a dazzling arc of destruction. The cleric cried out again, his health dropping into the red. One more hit would finish him.

The fighter saw my intent and stepped in, his blade coming down in a devastating arc aimed for my head. I activated Parrying Riposte, meeting his strike and twisting his weapon aside with practiced precision. My counterattack struck him squarely in the chest, staggering him and giving me an opening.

With a quick glance, I saw the cleric attempting to crawl away. I wouldn’t let him escape. I dashed forward, using Ethereal Step to phase through the fighter’s next desperate swing. My sword came down on the cleric, finishing him with a clean strike that sent his health bar to zero. He crumpled to the ground, a lifeless heap.

The fighter roared in rage, his attacks growing reckless. He was bleeding out now, his health steadily ticking away thanks to my sword’s effects. Activating Achilles Sweep, I aimed a low strike at his legs, cutting through his armor and crippling his mobility. He stumbled, falling to one knee.

"You bastard!" he growled, swinging his sword in a wide arc. I dodged easily, raising my blade for the final strike.

"Should’ve watched your back," I said coldly, bringing my sword down in a decisive blow. His health bar hit zero, and he collapsed alongside his cleric companion.

Descending the staircase toward the boss room, I could feel the air grow heavier with each step. The flickering torches along the walls seemed to dim as I approached the massive stone doors. Pushing them open, I entered a cavernous chamber. In its center stood the boss—a towering figure that could have been mistaken for a half-giant, covered in matted furs and clutching a massive spiked hammer. His hulking frame radiated menace, his glowing, ember-like eyes locked onto me the moment I stepped inside.

I double-checked my gear. Potions? Ready. Remedies? Ready. Skills? Cooldowns refreshed. This was going to be brutal.

“Who dares... awaken me from my eternal slumber!?” he roared, his voice reverberating through the chamber like an earthquake. The entire tomb shook, dust and pebbles raining from the ceiling as an ethereal dragon’s visage materialized behind him, its glowing eyes piercing through the darkness.

Before I could react, he planted his hammer into the ground with a deafening crash and launched himself at me, bare fists raised. His sheer speed caught me off guard, but I activated Light Step just in time to evade his first strike. His punch slammed into the ground, sending a shockwave that rippled through the chamber. The force alone shaved a quarter of my HP and left me with the Afflicted debuff.

"Of course," I muttered, hurriedly downing a remedy to cleanse the status. My offensive and defensive abilities were halved, and that wouldn’t fly here. The moment the debuff cleared, I reengaged, dashing forward with Light Step to close the distance.

I aimed for his sides, slashing deep into his exposed flesh. Blood sprayed with each hit, and the Bleed debuff icon appeared above his head. Good—it was working. I kept moving, circling him to avoid his powerful swings, cutting into his arms, legs, and back. Each strike stacked the bleed damage higher, but he barely seemed to notice. He roared in frustration, his hammer dragging through the ground as he tried to keep up with me.

Then, with a mighty leap, he jumped back, his body glowing faintly. I stopped in my tracks as the air around him began to shift.

"You will witness... the ascension of a mighty warrior!" he bellowed, his voice booming like a war horn. The dragon’s visage behind him shimmered and then merged with his body in a flash of blinding light. When my vision cleared, he was no longer a half-giant. He had transformed into a massive, bipedal dragon, his scales glinting like polished obsidian. His hammer crackled with energy as he gripped it with clawed hands.

The ground trembled beneath him as he stomped forward, his glowing eyes fixed on me. Without warning, he raised his hammer high and smashed it into the floor, sending a shockwave of jagged stone and energy rippling through the room. I barely managed to leap into the air, avoiding the brunt of the attack.

My heart pounded. The bleed debuff was gone—his transformation had reset it. "Of course it did," I growled under my breath, gritting my teeth. This was going to be a slog.

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He roared again, lunging forward with a speed that belied his massive size. His hammer swung toward me in a deadly arc. I ducked, feeling the rush of wind as it narrowly missed my head. The ground cracked and splintered where it struck. I countered with a slash to his leg, but my blade glanced off his hardened scales, leaving only a faint scratch.

“Seriously?” I muttered, rolling to the side to avoid his follow-up swing. He was relentless, each strike shaking the room and forcing me to stay on the move. My stamina was draining fast, and my attacks weren’t doing much against his scaled hide.

I activated Arcanic Blast: Elemental Fury, channeling a volley of energy bolts infused with fire and ice. They struck his chest, staggering him slightly, but the damage was minimal. He roared in irritation and retaliated with a sweeping hammer strike. I dove to the side, but the shockwave from his missed attack still sent me tumbling. My HP bar dipped dangerously low, and I scrambled to my feet, chugging a health potion as quickly as I could.

He wasn’t done. He slammed the hammer into the ground again, this time sending a series of jagged stone spikes racing toward me. I dodged left, then right, narrowly avoiding each one. The final spike grazed my arm, dropping my health even further. This was bad—I couldn’t afford to keep trading blows with him. I needed a new strategy.

As he lumbered forward, I activated Ethereal Step, phasing out of his line of sight and positioning myself behind him. I aimed for the back of his knee, slashing with everything I had. This time, the blade found a weak spot, cutting through the scales and drawing blood. He roared in pain, staggering slightly.

"Gotcha," I muttered, following up with Achilles Sweep to target the same leg. His movements slowed as the attack crippled his mobility, but he was still far from finished.

He spun around, his tail whipping through the air. I barely ducked in time, feeling the rush of wind as it passed inches above my head. His hammer came down again, but I activated Parrying Riposte, deflecting the blow just enough to keep myself alive. My counterstrike landed on his chest, drawing another roar of frustration.

I was running out of stamina, and he wasn’t showing any signs of slowing down. My health bar was dangerously low, and I was down to my last potion. This was going to come down to the wire. As he raised his hammer for another devastating blow, I activated Final Stand, bracing myself for the incoming strike. My defenses surged, blocking the attack completely, but my HP began ticking down rapidly.

This was it. I channeled all my remaining energy into one final Arcanic Blast: Chained Enemy. The blast struck his chest, arcing across his body and tearing through his remaining defenses. He stumbled, his health bar finally dropping into the red.

With a roar of defiance, I lunged forward, driving my blade into his exposed chest. He let out one final, deafening roar before collapsing to the ground, his massive frame shaking the entire chamber.

I stood over his fallen body, panting and covered in sweat. My health was at a sliver, but I’d done it. The room fell silent as the boss disintegrated, leaving behind a shimmering pile of loot. A notification popped up in my HUD:

Tomb of the Ancients: Hero Gurlax Defeated.

As I sifted through the loot, my eyes lingered on the necklace, Dark Pact of the Eternals. It gleamed with an otherworldly black hue, its surface pulsing faintly like a beating heart. The description intrigued me: a Warlock-centric item that boosted stats evenly by 15. It seemed modest, but in a game like this, it was rare and invaluable. I slipped it into my inventory, already imagining how it would synergize with my build.

Turning to leave, a chill ran down my spine. A presence. My instincts screamed at me before I even registered the faintest sound—a whisper, like breath brushing against the nape of my neck.

"Who's there?" I called, gripping my sword tightly despite my nearly depleted HP. Fighting now would be futile, but dying wasn’t my concern. It was who—or what—was here with me.

Out of the shadows stepped a figure draped in long, flowing robes that seemed to defy the game’s rendering. The textures rippled unnaturally, like static bleeding through the fabric of reality. The figure’s face was obscured by a hood, but what lay beneath wasn’t human. Two hollow, glowing eyes stared at me, devoid of warmth, their light flickering like dying embers.

"You are... a fascinating gamer." The voice was hollow, layered, and unnatural, as if multiple people were speaking in unison.

I took a cautious step back, my pulse hammering in my ears. The game glitched. The cavern blurred, textures warping and tearing around the edges of my vision. The figure didn’t move, but its presence seemed to distort everything around it.

"You seek not riches," it said, its voice resonating deep within my chest. "But you seek to be the best builder. This... makes you privy to the darker aspects of this world."

My head swam as the glitches intensified. Walls flickered in and out of existence, the torchlight dimming into an eerie, unnatural blue hue. It felt as if the game itself was... alive. Twisting. Breathing.

"Who are you?" I demanded, though my voice came out hoarse and unsteady.

The figure tilted its head, a faint trace of amusement emanating from it. "Someone who watches. Someone who observes... this world very closely."

I flinched as the glitches worsened, the very air vibrating with static. For a moment, I thought my VR set was overheating, but then I realized it wasn’t just my game. It was me. A suffocating pressure wrapped around my chest as the figure spoke again.

"The guilds that hunt you—the Crossbones, the Red Masters—they are nothing compared to what lies ahead. Your talent will attract... attention. Not all of it welcome."

"Wait! What do you mean by darker aspects?" I demanded, my hands shaking. "This is just a game, isn’t it?"

The figure leaned closer, and for the first time, I noticed its shadow—or rather, its absence. Where its form stood, the ground beneath it was consumed by a void, blacker than anything I’d seen.

"This is not just a game. This is a test." The words felt heavy, as if they carried a weight I couldn’t yet comprehend. "A test to see who is worthy to ascend."

"Ascend to what?" I asked, my voice rising.

It didn’t answer. Instead, it stared at me, its hollow gaze piercing through my very being. Then, without warning, the room shifted. I was no longer in the cavern. I was standing in an endless expanse of darkness. Around me, whispers echoed—indistinct voices murmuring my name. My breath hitched as I spun in place, but there was nothing. Just me... and the figure.

"Those who tread the path you have chosen... rarely emerge unscathed," it said, its voice now a low growl. "Beware the unseen rules. Beware those who would watch... and those who would play."

Before I could respond, the figure dissolved into smoke, vanishing as if it had never been there. The cavern flickered back into view, but I was left cold, my heart racing. A faint whisper lingered in the air, barely audible:

"The days ahead will not be silent... nor peaceful."

I stood there, frozen, the enormity of what had just happened sinking in. This was no ordinary NPC encounter. This was something else. Something darker. And as I left the boss room, I couldn’t shake the feeling that this was just the beginning. I logged out of the game and sank back into reality. My eyes were sore, my head throbbed, and the questions swirled around my mind like a storm. What the hell was that? I couldn’t shake the image of the hooded figure or the cryptic warnings it had delivered. Dark aspects to a video game? It sounded absurd. If the developers had built something sinister into the game, wouldn’t someone have leaked it by now? This was the age of data miners and whistleblowers, after all. Yet something about this felt... wrong. Even the EternaLink unit, supposedly able to run endlessly without overheating, had been running hot after I logged out.

I shook my head. "Worthy of ascension," it had said. The phrase echoed in my mind, gnawing at my thoughts. It was too much, even for a pro gamer. Grabbing a glass of water, I downed it with a couple of headache pills and collapsed into bed, the disjointed thoughts following me into fitful dreams.

The next morning, I groggily sat up and immediately reached for my phone. My curiosity got the better of me, and I opened the game forums. If someone else experienced that strange encounter, maybe they’d posted about it. Scrolling through threads, I found one by Mira, one of the few players I respected. Her post was straightforward but tinged with the same unease I felt

'Hi all, I was in the tombs last night and this crazy but very creepy glitch occured, a figure said some weird cryptic dialog, Devs can you explain this or is there an event that we don't know about? For whatever reason it was really creepy.'

Her words hit close to home. At least I wasn’t alone in this. I scrolled down to the replies, expecting more insights, but my mood soured immediately when I saw Blazer's name pop up. His reply was dripping with his usual brand of obnoxiousness:

'Mira I saw it too, something about ascension or some weird nonsense. Odd how you are posting first, I figured hotshot would post it first but I forget he is trying to be original'

I clenched my jaw. Blazer. The self-proclaimed big shot who built his reputation by piggybacking off others. His entire response was bait, aimed squarely at me. Asshat. I closed the app before I could stew on it any longer. Whether Blazer had actually seen the figure or was just trying to stay relevant didn’t matter. I had bigger concerns than his pathetic attempts to stir up drama.

Mira’s post had confirmed one thing: I wasn’t imagining it. This wasn’t a random glitch or a fever dream born from gaming too late into the night. Others were seeing this figure too, and whatever was happening in EternaLink was far bigger than any one of us.

Shoving Blazer’s nonsense aside, I turned my focus back to the game. There’s something here. Something hidden beneath the surface. If this was part of the game, I was determined to uncover it. If it wasn’t... well, I needed answers, no matter the cost.