Have you ever tried to remember a place that no longer exists? To dream of a world only told to you in stories? It's like being handed a book filled with blank pages and told to rewrite a person's favorite story. You might give a few major plot points or even a sentence of dialogue or two, but never the exact words. Never the exact feeling.

The Older World was a dream to me. No, not a dream. A memory I never had given to me by the patchwork tales of my father. Vibrant green hills, dazzling city skylines, blue clear skies so far as the eye could see that the end only came to a stop because of the horizon. I used to imagine what that was like. To live in a world with no monsters. No red skies, no ruined remains of lost cities and no black haze of death surrounding everything around me.

For a long time I would imagine this once glorious world. I could never fully bring to life in my mind's eye the places and views my father described. How could I? To imagine something you had never seen. To hope for something better than what you have always known. To dream of a world I had never lived in. It was the only dream I had ever known. It was the dream I woke from. An undefined vision of white clouds over endless lands of evergreens and rolling hills of grass. I tried to hold onto that vision. To force it to stay and never leave. But the Fallen States have a way of breaking dreams and letting them fall from your fingers.

When I finally opened my eyes I no longer saw blue, green and white. I only saw red. A red eye staring down through a broken glass ceiling. The Great Fallen God watched me with amusement. Watched the life and death struggle of a young boy newly Unlocked and learning the ways of this world. Or at least that’s what it felt like. Whether it could see me lying down, arms wide, t-shirt drenched in sweat and blood, I couldn’t say. All I knew was that it never blinked and never turned its gaze from The Crumbling Tower.

I managed to pull myself up to my side despite the pain in my chest and the aching in my left shoulder. My left hand was having issues opening and closing. My right was closed tightly around the revolver. The realization of what happened finally dawned on me. The dust was still settling as the collapsed walkway stopped its trembling. I must have passed out during the commotion. It made sense. I had just survived the worst ordeal of my life. Even as I sat there looking out at the ruined tiles, cracked marble pillars, and scattered decor, I felt as if I was going to pass out again. Red light blazed in my eye as my Codex flared to life.

[Mutated Human Defeated]

[Experience Points Earned: 330]

[Leveled 2 Achieved!]

Level: 2 (230/500) XP

[1 Free Stat Point Obtained]

[Choose Your Stat Upgrade]

[Body, Mind, Spirit]

My victory became so much more as I felt a rush of life enter me. I had leveled up again. My body surged with energy as the pain in my chest faded, my shoulder stopped aching and my vision refocused and cleared. My Codex now said I was [Unharmed]. Leveling up fully restored my health! It was the most amazing feeling. A feeling I needed to have again. I wanted that rush to never end. To keep leveling up. Keep gaining more and more stat points and eventually become the strongest. I was going to complete the Trials, get my Class Pathway and join the Outriders.

I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life before this moment. I thought about taking the Scavenger Pathway like my father but specializing in Crafting so I could help with some of the mechanical problems our community continued to deal with. Broken generators, rusting machinery, and defenses that constantly needed to be maintained. My father thought it was a good idea as well.

“Complete your Trials,” He would say. “Then you can find peace here with me.”

Sorry dad, I breathed in an overwhelming sense of responsibility, I’m joining the outriders. I was going to be the strongest Unlocked anyone has ever seen. Even stronger than the Midnight Ranger.

“Ward?” A shrill voice called from beyond the wall of dust and debris. “Ward, are you there? Answer me.” It was Tala. I couldn’t quite see her through the settling dust but her shape was there, arms out waving to me.

“Yeah,” I called out. “Yeah I’m fine. How is Theo?”

“He’s unconscious. He needs healing,” I finally managed to see where Theo and Tala were. The dust had cleared enough for me to see Theo laying on the ground and Tala standing, searching through the dust. I stood up and waved back to her. “We need to scavenge for more supplies.”

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“Right,” I nodded. I faded the gun away back into my inventory, thinking that if I wanted to use it again I was going to need more ammunition. According to the First Unlocked, now that I had a proper gun, I should be able to find ammo easier. Something that the Trinity decided would be.

I pulled up my Codex again and decided to place my free stat point into Body. As I did I felt my muscles tighten, my breathing ease, and my energy grow even stronger. I couldn’t help but smile at the sensation. To be blessed by an Eldritch god. Strange way to grow but I liked it.

I made my way over to the edge of the broken walkway and looked down at the destruction. Far below me, at least four stories, I could see the splattered remains of the Abomination. Its body had completely collapsed when it hit the ground. The chandelier had also pinned it to the marble flooring, and impaled it in several spots. I checked the creature’s status one more time to make sure it really was dead.

Abomination - Level 2

Condition: Dead

Weaknesses: Slashing

Resistances: Bludgeoning

Looking at the new information gave me another sense of accomplishment. I had managed to deal decent damage after all when I attacked it with my knife. The Slashing damage was its weakness. The Bludgeoning also made sense with how ineffective Theo’s attack had been. So by defeating the monster we learned more about it. I wonder what would’ve happened if I hadn’t dealt any Slashing damage to it. Would I still have learned its weakness? Something I would need to keep track of moving forward. “Information is key to surviving the Fallen States.” More wisdom came to me from my dad. Thankful that I had someone great to teach me. Regretful that I was remembering it so late. C’mon Ward, think next time.

The distance between where I stood and Tala was around twenty feet. I knew I wasn’t going to be able to jump it. I needed to find a way to get to the others. “I’m going to have to go around. Find another way over to you.”

“You better hurry. It’s starting to get dark out,” Tala said.

She was right. The vibrant crimson light of day was beginning to fade to an off-gray tone. Night was extremely dangerous, even living in somewhere secure like the Quarters. I definitely didn’t want to find myself alone when the shadows descended. Something about the night affected the monsters. They lived for the darkness. Thrived in it.

“K, I’m gonna check around real quick to see if I can find any more healing items. Try and get you and Theo somewhere safe. Make a fire if you can. I’ll try and find you,” I said. Tala nodded and told me to stay safe then she reached her arms under Theo and started dragging him away. I turned from the drop but something stopped me. A light far below caught my eye. I looked down again and sure enough there was a blue light floating above the Abominations body. A rare loot item. The itch for better gear dug into my skull. I wanted it. I needed it. But how was I going to get down there? Especially since the night was coming.

I looked out at a far floor-to-ceiling window where the setting sun shined. I probably had a little over half an hour before dusk came and maybe ten or so minutes before true night. Was it enough time for me to get down there and grab the item? What about Theo and Tala? If I went for the item then I definitely wouldn’t make it back before everything went dark. I didn’t have a flashlight, or something to make fire with. I could possibly scrounge for something but that again would take up valuable time. Time I couldn’t afford to waste.

“Never venture out into the darkness,” Lupin Fletcher had taught the colony over and over again. “If you ever find yourself alone in the dark. Hide.”

“Words to live by,” My dad had said. “Saved a great number of us during the first few years of the Fallen States. So never forget them.”

Another lesson I was thankful for. But another lesson came to my mind as well. Maybe not a lesson but more of a warning I once heard from Makena Young after she talked about her first venture as an Outrider. “Loot never lasts.”

That rare item wasn’t going to be around forever. I couldn’t wait till morning to retrieve it. If I wanted it I would have to go now. Loot never lasts. My decision was made. I jogged over to the closest set of stairs from where the Abomination first came from. Instead of heading up I took the flight down. I jumped several steps, trying to keep a good pace without making too much noise. I still didn’t know what was waiting for me and the noise of the collapsing walkway was sure to have drawn something’s attention.

After coming to the second landing down I stopped. The path was blocked off by a collapsed wall. It had been inverted by a large marble pillar that had collapsed. I couldn’t see a good way down from where I was and decided to go up a floor. I could search around for another way down. I bounded up the staircase to the next level and came to a set of double doors. They both had long slits of glass windows and appeared to swing in or out. I walked up and peered through the glass.

On the other side of the doors I saw only darkness. There were no lights, no windows, nothing. Only complete darkness. I stepped back from the doors and looked for some kind of lightswitch or indication of what could be on the other side. There was no switch but there was a map of the floor and a plaque above that had the words Cooper Therapy, Miles Marketing, and Benson Sons Attorney engraved in it. I ran my hand across the floor plan to clear off some dust and studied it. The other side of the doors appeared to be a short hallway that broke off left and right to a series of enclosed office spaces. The entire floor ran around the central open chamber with only a few places that led to a seating area where someone could look out.

Following the main hallway I saw would eventually lead me to the stairs on the other side. It was perfect! I could make my way over to the other stairs, drop down a few levels to claim the rare item and then back up to where Tala and Theo were. I tried my best to memorize which doors I would need to take in order to reach the other side. It appeared the hallways came to an abrupt end before leading to another set of office spaces that eventually continued to the other side. From where I was, it would be easiest to turn right, follow the hall to the end and then take the last door on the left. From there it was a straight shot to another set of doors that opened up to the other stairs.

I equipped the kitchen knife from my inventory, let out a deep breath and pressed the double doors inward. I had crouched down as I entered, and carefully helped the doors come to a close. Luckily their hinges were quiet on the swings in and out. However, the light from the setting sun had still pierced itself halfway down the empty corridor. So, I waited and listened. Everything seemed quiet. There was only me and the darkness.