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Ch. 0 - Prologue.

FVR

Prologue.

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Every life tells a story,

Every story has an end,

Even the end tells a story.

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The not-too-distant future.

Joel stood in the dimly lit cavern, his breaths heavy, his vision blurred from fatigue. "This is it," he whispered to himself, the words barely audible. "The last wave. The final hurdle in this game before it's all over. So, why... Why is the final fucking challenge against that!?"

Across the cavern, half-hidden behind long stalactites that bridged ceiling and floor, a figure appeared, its steps unnervingly soft. The glimmer of its golden eyes pierced through the gloom and met Joel's wide-eyed stare with a familiar, unsettling gaze.

Flickering flames of distant braziers cast a faint glow over the figure's yellow hands, its human shape shrouded in a dark cloak, devoid of detail.

Joel shifted his itchy feet, then edged slowly towards one of the many doorways. The hollow echoes of his footsteps reverberated against the rugged, ancient walls of the cavern, their sound swallowed by the oppressive darkness.

So many fucking dead ends! How am I meant to know the real exit!? Sweat dripped from his brow as he surveyed the labyrinthine of paths within the royal escape route.

For the slightest of moments, Joel heard a mumble from the figure; its words lost to the space between them. Then, with subtle, deliberate flicks of its wrists, the figure conjured two portals beside Joel, each one the size of a basketball; their suspended forms like swirling vortexes of darkness.

With blinding speed, various inanimate objects surged forth from each portal, propelled by an unseen force.

The itch in Joel's feet became a throb as his muscles tensed and he pushed off the ground, launching himself into a desperate run.

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Objects crashed against the wall and floor around him, yet he somehow continued to evade. The cave walls quickly felt as though they were pressing in, suffocating him in the way that only fear could. He stretched his mana sense outward, probing in every direction like a radar, draining his energy with each passing moment. Mana sense can pick up changes in the air so I can see where the portals will show up, but I can't see the inanimate objects with it! These portals are an insane fucking magic!

Joel continued to dodge as he ran, but it was becoming impossible to dodge them all. There's changes within the portals themselves when an inanimate object passes through, I need to look out for that. Every bounding step took him from one potential exit to another, but all led to dead ends. The impending and oppressive atmosphere of the cavern quickly constricted around him, mingling with the scent of damp earth and decay.

"Arghh! Shit," he cursed, feeling something swipe his upper arm. He wanted to increase the output of his mana shield to full, but he didn't have enough mana to do so for a prolonged period of time. At this rate I'll... A sharp image of Aurora flashed before his eyes. No! Not like this!! He screamed to himself, "NOT BY ONE OF YOU!" He roared.

Dozens of portals began to open in various directions. Hope, in that moment, seemed ephemeral, as he once again stared down his own death. I...

With so many portals open at once, however, Joel noticed that none came from the ground or wall. Perhaps not much of a weakness, but it gave Joel a thought. He looked into the distance at where the figure loomed, and imagined a path towards it. The stalactites! If he can't produce portals on a surface, he'll have less area to attack me from if I'm surrounded!

With a swift dash into the sky and towards the cavern wall, its surface slick with damp and overgrown moss, Joel landed nimbly and with enough pace to stay horizontal as he circled back around the figure from high up in the cavern.

That parkour skill finally coming in handy!

A harrowing crackle rang from the portals as Joel dodged the few attacks that came head on, circling the figure before spotting an opening.

There!

Joel faced the wall and kicked off. "Loadout two," he commanded the system, his gear changed with its instant speed as he landed behind the figure. He set his mana shield as high as it could go, draining his mana even more rapidly. "Thunderous dash," he cried out, dashing through the air with lightning speed while slashing at the figure as he passed it. It connected! he thought, feeling the sensation of his blade tear through flesh.

Learning from past mistakes, Joel didn't pause or check if the strike had finished off his opponent. Instead, he immediately took off running again, intent on regaining his aerial advantage.

He dashed again into the sky and toward the wall, lowering his mana shield to its minimum. Then, using his mana sense to peer behind him, he saw that the figure had vanished. A sense of confusion and fear gripped him.

At the moment Joel landed on the wall - his momentum carrying him forwards - a far larger portal opened in front of him and through it protruded the tip of a blade, followed by the grimacing face of the golden-eyed figure.

"Shit!"

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