Memories of a kingdom long gone flashed in Theron’s mind, invading his senses as he felt a strange sense of melancholy—a longing for events he had never experienced, things he never had. None of the images shown depicted anything resembling earth, so he knew this memory… this… place, came from elsewhere. From a man the owner of this memory considered king, judging from his appearance. Clad with white-silver armor from top to bottom, a statuesque body, with a long, flowing cape on his back adorned with furs. Stitched atop his cape was a wolf insignia.

The voice paused, allowing the four outlandish people to take it all in. Only after Theron finally re-oriented himself back into reality did it continue.

“You saw it...” The voice resumed, a trail of a smile hinted at the end of his first sentence, “What do you think? Magnificent, is it not? The opulence, the peace, and the might… Now that… is a kingdom.”

“What are you?” The woman spoke, her voice alien to his ears, she wasn’t Selena, for sure, her figure stood way taller than her. At a glance, he couldn’t see her face through all that smear in his blurry vision, but her posture displayed a sense of… wiseness, unlike all the others present. She was a lot older than the rest of them, that, he could confirm.

“We thought we had it all.” The voice continued as if her question had never been asked. “We thought… our kingdom would last forever. What folly it is.”

Then Theron—and he assumed the others too—saw it. A… flicker of an image. Of calamity. Not too different than what happened on earth, but instead of atomic bombs…

It was a meteor.

“It happened out of nowhere. The same happened to you; deaths at a scale unimaginable…” The voice added while the four of them immersed themselves in the cataclysm, somehow relating to the destruction that happened. After all, they all shared the same fate. The same story in essence, just different in tone and origins.

“Then… we woke up. At a different place, at a different time. Revived… by the system.”

“You are just like us.” The voice finally regarded their attendance, “To be stuck in a world so different than what you’re used to. To be freed of… the pain; the agony of a shredded civilization. You all agreed to live on, after all.”

Theron steeled his resolve, finding time to reply, “What do you want from us? Why are you telling-no, showing us this?”

The voice smirked. “Reach the summit, and you’ll find the answer you’re searching for.”

The summit… Theron turned his attention to the giant mountain in the distance. “Who are you?”

“As for my identity… Our king declared that we keep it a secret, for now.” He continued, words seemingly leaving his mouth in sighs, exhaustion evident in his tone, “Upon the opening of the next zone,” he paused for a moment, “You will meet some of our men. Lead the others toward the summit. That is the role the system has put on you; a paragon from each axis.”

King? Like the one foretold from the visions? Theron was about to speak, but the woman jumped the gun first. “I don’t like any of this.” The woman interrupted curtly, “What if we’re not cut out to be leaders?”

“It’s your choice. However, do know that you’re placed in a zone different from the others for a reason.” The voice trailed, its volume decreasing. “You cannot defeat the trial by yourself.”

She shut her mouth, frustration boiling from the snap of her lips.

“You… said, king?” Theron resumed, filling in the silence, “Who is that?”

The voice answered with a laugh, foretelling some kind of a history of a kingdom long gone. Of a man he called king, whose name he never spoke of. What significance does this story have? He wondered, realizing the others shared the same expression as he did. None of what he spoke made much sense, but compared to the insanity of this world, his story felt mild in comparison.

“Unite the people around your side.” he insisted, “Believe me. You cannot traverse the desolate wastes alone.”

Then he continued, changing the topic from his past and his king to the aspects. “Formidable monsters of the system’s designs.” was what he said, “You’ve not unlocked the full potential of aspects just yet. If I must suggest… complete the aspect progression of the one, singular, powerful monster in the tutorial zone. Do not skip it.”

Theron’s mind immediately snapped to the brutish, spiked, colorful bear. A glance at the others told the same story, too, they’d all encountered such kind of a beast.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

The other members of those present asked their own questions. None asked if they could return, most likely because they knew earth no longer existed, and none wanted to return to the world they so dearly wished to escape from. One queried about how to grow in strength without the need for an aspect, and the answer the voice gave was… well, different than what Theron initially assumed.

“It depends on what class you get. If I were you, I’d wait until I get all the upgrade pieces and until it has absorbed all the excess experience points. Your class selection will shape your future. Do not rush this decision. Wait until you absolutely have to before using the class stone.” He said with an air of authority.

[Paragon stone’s effects are waning. The guidance is fading.]

The voice groaned, “My time is up. This… connection will last for a few minutes. Use this opportunity to know each other.”

With that, the voice turned mute.

“Phew… that’s a load of things to unpack.” One of them said once the air turned silent. His sounded less grisly than the voice, yet still deeper than Theron could ever reach, “You’re all the holders of this paragon thing?” He picked up the stone from his satchel, tossing it about, smiling. “Glad to meet you all. I’m… from the east. The name’s Brent. Brent Suarez.”

Theron spied his appearance, unable to form a speech as he struggled to process this miraculous event. “I’m Theron Gray. From the southern axis. It’s… good to see you all.”

To see I’m not alone. He couldn’t get that part out. What would he do if he was the only one with the paragon stone?

Brent was… well, muscular, he couldn’t tell his skin tone all that well due to the smudge and relative darkness, but he wasn’t Caucasian, like him and the other man, who opted to keep his lips shut the entire time. Is he Kraven? No way, right? He’s way too close to me to find the western paragon stone.

“I’m Meredith Star. I suppose it’s best if we know each other. It feels weird when I’m so obviously the oldest one here.” She sighed, then waited for the final man to reveal himself. “So… What about you?”

“Idris.”

Idris? Unlike the others, Idris appeared to be the most reserved out of the bunch, and his voice sounded young, like three, or five years younger than Theron was. “I’m from the west.”

West…

Kraven.

“Have you seen a man named Kraven?” Theron immediately asked him that question, knowing his relative proximity to their group. Idris responded with a shake of his head.

“I… I’ve heard of his name from groups of people escaping from him.” He added after a while, “But no, I’ve not seen him personally. You’re from the-” Idris raised his head, recalling what Theron said, “-the south? Did you…”

“I’ve seen extensions of his influence from my spot. And… I’ve… dispatched a few of his men.” Theron spoke, unable to find a better way to express what had happened, “I’ll be mindful of him if I were you. I heard his men are advancing toward your location, Idris. And he’s bringing quite a number of people. One of them had an elite aspect, even.”

To his surprise, Idris didn’t show much of a reaction to Theron’s warnings. “And so do I. I’ll keep that in mind.”

From what Selena’s group told of, Kraven’s description portrayed an individual with a charismatic, yet twisted persona, a two-faced lunatic. Had he been a kid, those three would have spoken about his unusual appearance, yet none did. Unless Kraven knew mind-altering magic or had the capability to change his appearance to that degree, then the odds of Idris being Kraven were low.

“Do you need help?” Brent asked, interrupting their conversation, “I can-“

“No.” Idris refused, his tone firm, unlike before. “I’ll deal with him myself.”

“Well, well,” Meredith smirked, “At least you’re confident. The voice said we’ll meet each other after the next zone opened.” Theron spied her face turning toward the summit, “I suppose I can’t get rid of this call until it ends by itself… so…” She smiled, “-I gotta say, I kinda miss people, crazy, I know. With all the-” she shriveled, no doubt recalling her past, “-you know what I mean.”

Theron sighed, releasing the constricting tension within his chest. “Where do you all come from?”

He had to admit, the initial conversation went awkwardly. But each was willing to share their past, even if it was just a little. That small amount ended up being enough to get the ball rolling. Meredith hailed from the southern continent, far, far away from Theron, and Brent came from a city not distant from where Theron used to be. Idris opened up eventually, his nervousness deflating when Meredith insisted on opening him up, beginning to raise his voice, but when things were just starting to go well…

[Paragon stone’s effects ended.]

It ended.

Theron’s stared at the empty sky, dumbfounded. The… well, the conference call ended without as much as a goodbye. Seeing them gave him a breath of relief, the faces of people he deemed powerful were… comforting, for some reason. A part of him missed the warmth his old friends used to share; no, he’d forgotten about the soothing comfort of companionship, dulled from the constant pain and hunger, dulled from his losses, and perhaps he became wary of opening himself up since without being conscious about it.

Yeah, life was hard, and he had to harden himself to adapt to the ever-changing environment.

No time to act all melancholic. Let’s focus on what I can do now.

A long list of things to do unfurled in his mind, reciting the untold amount of unfinished businesses Theron needed to accomplish before the next zone opened, whatever that meant. A part of him worried about Idris’ safety, but worrying was a privilege reserved for those who could act upon it, not for a man such as him. Not when he couldn’t do much against an army of people by himself. He should probably reach out to the folks on the east side, perhaps even contacting Brent, but doing that now with the risk of Hubert’s men reaping whatever resources available in his zone felt like a massive mistake; not when he understood the significance of this… entire area, and the tutorial zone he spawned in.

If those resources fell to them…

Yeah. One by one. I’ll start by finishing all the stuff here, Finally able to let his shoulders loose, Theron allowed himself a moment of rest as he dredged his way below the pole, hiding below its shadow. He ordered his aspects to patrol around the scene as he browsed the interface. First, the quest completion.

[Complete all aspect progress within this zone(Common monsters).]

[Reward: 1x Uncommon equipment.]

Uncommon equipment… Theron closed his eyes and prayed, He hoped he acquired something he could use well from a distance, perhaps some form of a ranged weapon or an armor allowing him to last within a close quarters combat. Either was fine.

[You accepted the reward.]