Wake up.
Bradford floated in darkness, barely aware of the fact he was aware. He remembered little of what had happened, trapped as he was in an endless void. Some sense of self-awareness told him he was alive, but how and where remained outside the scope of his understanding. He tried to move, tried to blink, and felt as if he were mired in deep water. The void seemed to undulate around him, compressing and supporting him in equal measure.
Wake up.
He struggled through the compression to bring his right hand to his face, and touched his eyes. For all that he’d thought he was looking at darkness, he realised that his eyes weren’t even open. Another attempt to lift his eyelids told him something seemed to almost be fighting his ability to do so, and Bradford pressed his forefinger and thumb to his closed eyes. With what felt like a herculean effort, he pushed up the skin.
He froze the moment he did.
Bradford was afloat in the infinite void of space, surrounded by stars and nebulae and facing what appeared to be a gothic throne room bereft of any anchor to the physical world. Roman-style pillars lined the throne room, marching toward the seat at the far end which itself was a beautiful construct of black marble, with gold and silver veins running through it.
When he raked his eyes over the throne room again, a patch of darkness his eyes had seemed to naturally roll over caught his attention. Almost as if his attention was a desire for movement, he was abruptly standing on the marble flooring of the throne room, staring at that patch of darkness. As he did, he noticed it start to erode — sloughing away until what was beneath it was revealed.
What he saw took him a long few moments to process.
The most beautiful woman he’d ever seen knelt on the floor of the throne room, her arms bound by golden chains that now stretched to each one of the pillars. The chains seemed to dance with liquid sunlight, expelling coronas of power that snapped and scorched at the airless void. Her silver hair fell like a river of starlight across the nearly-translucent black nightgown that barely covered her body.
Brad abruptly remembered he was naked and glanced down in a panic, only to find himself attired in a simple white shirt, matching pants, and a pair of brown boots. Sighing in relief, he turned back to the woman.
She seemed to exemplify beauty, grace, and power, from her black-painted full lips to her generous bust and notable hips. Her arms and legs, he noticed, were clearly defined with muscle — showing him a woman who not only held staggering beauty, but a prominent physicality as well. He was reminded of a silver-haired Wonder Woman, in many ways. When she lifted her head to look at him, her eyes were striking: They glowed with crimson light, though it seemed faint, as if they were somehow diminished.
“At last…” She rasped wearily, her eyes fixed on his in a way that froze Bradford in place. “I have waited so long for your arrival…”
“Uh, what?” He asked in confusion as he watched her, glancing around at the floating throne room before turning back to its jailed occupant. “I have no idea who you are, or where I—”
“I am known by many names...” the woman replied before he could finish his sentence, her voice breaking from disuse “...but you may call me Lilith.”
He swallowed as she spoke, forcing himself to come back from the strange sense of almost juvenile intimidation he felt at her presence. Something deep within his mind told him that the reaction was not entirely natural, and he wanted to fight it. He’d never been afraid of anything to the degree he was afraid of Lilith, and the smaller part of his mind yelling it was all part of the game demanded he break free of the absurdity of the intimidation’s effects.
Almost as if a switch had been flicked, the fear was gone.
“Impressive.” She whispered as she stared at him in consideration. “You overcame my aura so easily.”
SYSTEM MESSAGE
Achievement Earned: [Dark Will]
Despite being in the presence of the Dark Lady, you have overcome her [Aura of Terror] and mastered your will.
This is a feat of legend, granting you the unique boon of complete immunity to all forms of Fear effects.
Your [Dark Will] will also protect you from the effects of [Mental Domination] and other such control abilities.
You are now able to withstand the presence of all creatures be they Mortal, Immortal, Elemental, Undead, Divine, or Aberrant.
“Dark Lady… Are you some sort of deity?”
“Ah, so you understand.” Lilith croaked. “Yes, traveler, I am She of the End. All creatures of the Dark are my servants, from the lowest of ghouls to the greatest of Reapers.”
“Okay…” He said slowly, watching the beautiful goddess warily. “And why are you chained up here, exactly?”
“Even gods fear the inevitability that I represent, traveler. They whom I called my comrades betrayed me and imprisoned me within this realm between realms.”
Brad nodded slowly and looked around at the area surrounding them. “And why am I here?”
“You, traveler, are here because you entered Eternus through a special artifact; one that I sent out into the cosmos in hopes of summoning aid.”
Brad raised an eyebrow at her words, and then his eyes widened. “The coffin!” He said abruptly, snapping his fingers in realisation. “That explains the raffle…”
“Yes. The Coffin.” She agreed. “Which leads us to the Path before you.”
“Uh, what path?” He asked with a sudden sense of wariness. That capital ‘P’ had been very distinct.
“You have two options before you, traveler. The first is to leave me to my imprisonment, perpetuating the current state of affairs and allowing the Greater and Lesser gods to stand uncontested as the ruling deities of Eternus. Doing this will likely earn you some small measure of favour with the other gods, as well. It will be a quick means to a favourable beginning upon Eternus.”
Brad raised his eyebrows. “Okay… And option two?”
“You free me.” She said quietly. “And I shall deliver you to Eternus as my Avatar. You will be my champion, my agent, my blade and shield. Through you I will once again bring the power of the Dark to Eternus, and exact my vengeance against my treacherous siblings and their sycophants. This path will be the harder and more grueling of the two. You will be hunted by the servants of the other gods, outcast from society, and thrown into a war you are ill prepared to wage. Your chances of success will be slim, your chances of survival slimmer still.”
“I see.” He said with raised eyebrows. “Not exactly appealing, that option.”
“It is not.” She agreed with a wry smile. “But along the path you shall receive powers and abilities beyond your wildest imaginings. You will become a Dark Sovereign the likes of which Eternus has not seen since the days of the last Revenant-King, and when your power and influence reaches the appropriate levels… you shall even have me.”
Brad stared at her for a split second in confusion, and then his brain caught up and his eyebrows vanished into his hairline. He’d known Eternus Online was rated for adults, but this was something else. Before he could say a word however, a screen appeared before him.
SYSTEM MESSAGE
Quest Issued: Fate of the Dark Lady
The Dark Lady, Lilith, has offered you a choice.
Two paths now lie before you…
1: You may choose to abandon Lilith, leaving the Dark Lady trapped in eternal imprisonment, and receive rewards from her siblings in return for such a pious act. Your name will be lauded as a hero of virtue by the gods that imprisoned the Dark Lady, and you will doom Lilith to a slow death in the realm between realms.
2: You may choose to free Lilith, breaking the Dark Lady’s bonds and releasing her back to Eternus in a vastly weakened state. Doing this will empower you as Lilith’s Avatar, allowing you full mastery over the lost arts of Dark Magic. This will also trigger a follow-on Quest with unknown rewards.
WARNING: Both actions have irreversible consequences both for yourself and the world of Eternus. Choose wisely.
Difficulty: S+
Success: Variable
Failure: N/A
Rewards: Various
Brad stared at the screen before him in silence, and then looked up at the stars as he mulled over his options. On one hand, Lilith had all but admitted to being the ‘evil’ god in the mythos of Eternus, and pretty looks aside, she seemed every bit the temptress archetype. Her name, even, put him on alert: He hadn’t missed the reference to the biblical mother of demons. On one hand, he could just ignore her and dive into the game with a great head start, some potentially unique loot, and a sterling reputation.
Yet as he looked at her, something told him that he would regret that option. Something about the implications of chaining away a goddess, regardless of what she represented, spoke of cowardice and duplicity to Brad. He’d seen and read enough fiction to know that screwing with the natural cycle was bad. If Lilith were to be believed, which the System implied she was: She was the goddess of everything that fell under Darkness, including Death. When had chaining away Death ever ended well in any fictional universe or game? Exactly never, in fact.
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Besides, there was the other compelling note: He’d always played the ‘hero’, the virtuous paladin or heroic knight swooping in to rescue the ‘people’ from the ‘blight of darkness’. Every MMO had been rife with the light versus dark motif that made for standard fantasy fare. In a lot of ways, this was his chance to do more than be just another generic protagonist.
It was, if nothing else, an exciting departure from his norm.
After all, hadn’t he wanted something fresh from Eternus Online?
His decision was made in that instant.
“Fuck it. Full send.” He muttered, before turning back to Lilith. “I will free you.” Brad declared as grandly as he could, barely resisting striking a pose. There was roleplaying, and then there was self-inflicted humiliation.
Lilith’s smile was radiant at his answer. “Thank you, my champion. On the throne behind me you will find a weapon. You must hurry and sever my bonds once you claim it, for my siblings will know that it has been taken and they will come to investigate.”
Brad didn’t need to be told why that would likely be a bad idea, and as his decision settled over him, he felt a sense of determination override his concern. Stepping around the silver-haired goddess, he walked carefully past and under the chains tethering her to the pillars to approach the black throne.
A seemingly innocuous blade lay sheathed upon the throne as he approached, its hilt and pommel reminiscent of a roman gladius, and its blade hidden within the dark leather of the sheath. When he took the moment to properly examine it, a pop-up appeared before him. Instead of the usual blue screen, it was a simple notification that appeared in the bottom left hand corner of his vision as if it were inside a chat window.
Congratulations, you have learned a new skill!
Skill Name: Examine
Skill Type: Active
Skill Function: By focusing on an item, you are able to understand its nature. This does not work with people, or items that require specific rituals, codes, or special prerequisites to understand.
Skill Level: Mastered
Skill Description: Most items are now available for you to Examine!
The moment he finished reading it, the prompt vanished. Bradford blinked at the inconsistency of it not having a screen, until he realised why it had likely been designed that way: user friendliness. Not only was the alert far less distracting than the blue screens, it was also easily ignored and relatively transparent. It was very likely that personal alerts were not deemed as important as System alerts.
It also likely meant that a mass of skill increases or learned skills wouldn’t occlude his vision with a mass of blue screens. That was great. Pleased with the unexpectedly sensible turn of events, he focused on the weapon resting on the throne and snatched it up quickly. A pivot saw him hurrying back toward where Lilith knelt on the floor, though when he tried to draw the sword in preparation it refused to budge.
Confused, he looked down and properly examined the weapon.
Its details appeared as boxless text beside the blade.
Name: Hidden
Type: Hidden
Rarity: Mythic
Slot(s): Main Hand, Off-Hand, Two-Handed
Level: Hidden
Description: A weapon of dark power, this blade seems to hum with unknown purpose.
Durability: Hidden
Special Effect(s): Hidden
Brad stared at the weapon in frustration until Lilith’s voice snapped him out of his distraction.
“Hurry, Champion! I can sense eyes turning toward us.”
Not needing to be told twice, he hurried to her side and ducked through the golden chains with a wary glance at the coronal ejections. Those looked like they would hurt if they touched him. Stopping once he returned to Lilith’s side, Brad held out the blade. “I can’t draw this and can’t examine it beyond some basics. I don’t know what to do.”
“Only my Avatar can wield that weapon.” Lilith explained quickly. “It is a Revenant Runeblade, one forged aeons ago and the only one never Bonded. To wield it, you must be willing to truly tie yourself to me for good. You must cast aside any thought of hesitation or doubt, and commit yourself utterly to being my Avatar.” Her crimson eyes rose to look at him. “Can you do that, my champion? Can you commit yourself to my cause?”
Brad opened his mouth to say he already had, and then paused. Part of him did want a way out. He’d only just started playing Eternus Online, and already he’d been presented with a clearly irreversible choice. Doubt, concern, mistrust… It was only natural he felt those things, wasn’t it? After all, character re-rolls weren’t exactly common or easy in the game, and once he made the choice, there likely was no going back.
“I…” He sighed and grit his teeth. He’d made the damn choice by picking up the sword, hadn’t he? He’d already invoked the sacred compact of Full Send!
His eyes met hers again, and the hope he saw within her gaze steeled his resolve. The time for doubt had passed. It had passed. No more worrying, no more fretting. He had to do it. If for no other reason than to avoid Kent’s relentless mocking at his indecision if he didn’t.
“Yes, Lilith.” He said as he felt his decision finalize in his mind. “I will be your Avatar.”
Brad placed his hand on the hilt of the blade and drew it, pulling the weapon from its sheath. As he did, a sharp prick caused his hand to spasm and tighten on the grip, and the sword changed. Where before it had been simple and unadorned, it seemed to melt and change before his very eyes.
The steel blackened as the leather wraps dyed themselves white. The pommel shifted as well, changing from a simple rounded end to the guise of a reaper’s skull. Next the crossguard expanded outward above his fingers to form a T with the hilt, both sides capped with skulls to match the pommel. The blade itself retained a steel finish even as it lengthened, and the hue darkened noticeably.
By the time the changes were complete, he no longer held a gladius. Instead his fingers were wrapped around a weapon he knew well: A Bastard Sword. A lot of people knew them as hand-and-a-half blades, referencing the hilt allowing for a one or two-handed grip. Brad had always preferred the term ‘bastard sword’. It seemed more badass to him, for reasons he’d never fully been able to explain.
“Woah.” He said simply, staring at the weapon in silence.
“Thank you, my Avatar.” Lilith’s voice shattered his contemplative silence.
“Oh. Shit. Right.” He said abruptly, realising he’d been standing there staring at his new sword while his goddess was kneeling on the floor in chains. The fact he’d mentally referred to her as ‘his goddess’ almost failed to register, but when it did, he brushed it aside. He was just getting into the mindset of the game, that’s all. It was nuts how lifelike everything was. It was easy to forget he was only playing a game.
Brad hurried forward and lifted his runeblade. “Here goes nothing.”
He swung downwards awkwardly and shattered the first of the chains linked to Lilith’s left wrist with surprising ease. The moment he did a gong sounded, reverberating throughout the space and causing the throne room to tremble. That, in his gaming experience, could not be a good thing.
“Hurry!” She urged him.
He hurried.
Each chain was severed one after the other, the dark steel of the runeblade making short work of the radiant bindings until, as the last chain was severed and flared away into nothingness, Lilith was free. The manacles around her wrists vanished, and the goddess drew in a filling breath.
“At last…” She whispered.
Brad stepped to her side quickly and sheathed his runeblade, holding the weapon in his right hand while wrapping his left under her arms and helping Lilith to her feet.
“Thank you, my Champion.” She said wearily, offering him a warm smile.
“No problem.” He responded with a smile of his own. “So what now?”
“Now we go to Eternus at last. There is a task you must complete to fully awaken as my Avatar. It will be an arduous undertaking, but with your new weapon and your evident force of will; I have full faith in your ability to succeed.” A dark portal awash with purple at its edges suddenly appeared before them. “We have little time, so listen well: I will not be able to aid you directly outside of the most extreme of circumstances. We gods operate on Faith, and my erstwhile fellows have seen to it that my worship is all but extinct. You must bring my influence back to Eternus. I will instruct what few followers I have left to seek you out to aid you.”
“Oh, that sounds gre—”
“Do not let your guard down.” She cut in firmly. “My faith is one of strength, Champion. Strength of spirit, of mind, and of flesh. If you allow yourself to be weak, even I will not be able to shelter you from the blades of those that covet your place as my chosen one.” Her right hand reached up to touch his cheek. Brad was surprised, momentarily, by how warm and real her palm was against his face. “My Champions have always been loved and feared in equal measure. You must find that balance yourself.”
“I understand.” He said with a nod, feeling that he’d somehow missed some fine print.
“You don’t right now.” She said with a smile. “But you will. I only hope that such understanding does not cost you greatly.”
“Me too.” He said with a nervous smile. “You said I had to do something else to be your Avatar, right? Or was that the worship—?”
“No it isn’t.” She cut in again hurriedly. “I will be sending you to the seat of power of the last Revenant King. You must enter his necropolis and claim the Liber Nox, my holy book. In its pages you will find the key to unlocking your power as my Avatar.”
The throne room shuddered around them, and both Lilith and Brad turned as if by instinct as several of the stars in the distance started to brighten.
“They’re coming!” She hissed. “We must flee. If you need my advice, my champion, you need only sacrifice life and pray to me. The more potent the life, the longer and more powerful the connection.” The pair of them hurried toward the portal as she spoke, with Brad supporting the weakened goddess. “As a final note, remember: My Avatars are strong of mind, spirit, and body. Like death balances life, so too must you balance yourself.”
Brad frowned at that but nodded, realising that she was very likely referring to his stats or something equivalent. That would make sense.
As they neared the portal, Lilith eased herself off of his arm and turned to him, her pale fingers taking his face between them. “Death is mine to command, and thus so too is it yours. I have faith in you, Champion. You have earned my favour. Now, restore the dominion of the Dark and earn the right to more than simply my favour.” Her eyes brightened and she smiled in a way that made his cheeks hot. “Remember, all creatures and followers of the Dark are yours to command... if you have the strength.”
Lilith pressed a kiss to his lips, stunning him, and then turned away. “And Champion: Hurry and take a name when you arrive on Eternus. I would like to put a moniker to my saviour.”
With that, the goddess vanished into the portal.
A sudden surge in temperature caught his attention, and Brad turned to where those brightening stars were now hurtling toward the throne room with the coronal force of a solar flare.
“Shit.” He said not-so-eloquently, before throwing himself into the portal.
Everything faded to darkness once more.