On the year 2034, 15th of March, the game ‘Legends of The Worlds Gate’ was released by Nadisign Corporation. It was a VRMMO, released by the same people who headed the development of full-dive technology. It was advertised as the ‘game of the century’ by multiple big names in the video game industry. A rare 5 stars, practically unheard of for any VRMMO so far. The game was quickly wiped off the shelves by hordes of customers, some even said they traveled to another country to get a copy of the game.
It was thought by many that this game would be a disappointment, and that Nadisign had bribed the reviewers into giving a high rating. However, these doubts were immediately disproven after the launch of the open beta. Compared to other games, it was in a world of it’s own. The graphics were shocking for early VRMMO games, and the freedom a player was given was reported to be ‘as if it is another world.’ Naturally, this news spread throughout the world, many doubters changing their opinion after giving the game a try. Of course, there were some hardcore haters who proclaimed that the game messed with your mind to make you think that it was much better than it should be, but these people were ignored for the most part.
Three months after the open beta was released, the developers said that they would finally be turning the beta into a full game. Sure enough, seven days later, LOWG was released as a full game, finally making it out of the beta stage. Though most players didn’t expect much change, the game could be considered to have had a total upgrade. Graphics had changed from realistic to touch-and-feel realistic. New skills, classes, items and spells were added into the game. Towns greatly increased in size, now able to house a population of up to 50,000 NPCs for capitols. The forging mechanic was changed to allow for the creation of many new inventions, one player even created a gun powered by magic. Spells had changed too. Now, areas had different levels of mana concentration, which increased or decreased the power and effectiveness of spells.
Despite all the changes that had been implemented, magic took the crown for best change. During the beta, a magician had to stand still and chant to cast a spell. However, some players good at multitasking could move and chant at the same time. But when the game was truly released, magic had become an entirely new thing. Now, powerful magicians could forgo chanting, and instead use the spell without speaking a word. Other spells, which were identified as ‘quick spells’, had been added that have no chant all together. Players who preferred to use physical weapons instead of chanting, now had magic they could use that wouldn’t affect their fighting style.
Magic gained even more popularity with the addition of grimoires. Grimoires were books that contained notes on magic. Some provided ways to shorten chants without reducing their power, while others provided new and unique spells for their owners to use. Mythical books such as the Book of The Dead and the Necronomicon, provided new ways to control spells, unique spells, new quests, and spell auto-correction. Spell auto-correction become the most wanted enchantment on grimoires. Spell auto-correction allow those who can’t remember a chant to chant the entire spell without mistakes. This proved invaluable to novice magicians who just started out.
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A storm swept the gaming community of LOWG. These updates had changed the game they knew into a new world. Now, NPCs had changed to have more personality. Players could become friends with the NPCs and through that, meet up with other NPCs who would give you quests or introduce you to even more NPCs. The NPCs’ merchant guild now allowed players to buy land to place shops, houses and anything else which the player thought of, as long as they built it within the land they owned and didn’t encroach on others’ properties.
While many players were discovering the new LOWG, one player discovered a new ruin in a high-level area. After finishing this new ruin, the player obtained a skill. It’s name was:
Gatemaster of The Worlds Gate
This skill allowed said player to control The Worlds Gate of LOWG. The Worlds Gate was the location of the final boss battle in the main storyline. Except for the final boss battle, The Worlds Gate is inaccessible to players. ‘Gatemaster of The Worlds Gate’ however, allowed the holder to reach The Worlds Gate. The player, obviously excited, immediately head to The Worlds Gate, intent on finding new items and powerful monsters that would allow him to level up. What he found at The Worlds Gate was not as he expected. It was a lush place of green, with herbs and flowers dotting the landscape. The Worlds Gate sat atop a hill, just like in the boss battle, but this time, spiraling blue wisps of energy emitted from the Gate. In the boss battle, The Worlds Gate was red in color and violent strikes of red lightning rocketed out from it.
The player was confused and angry at the lack of new items and monsters, but he recalled the description of the skill:
Gatemaster of The Worlds Gate You are the Gatemaster of The Worlds Gate. You decide where it takes you and who it opens and closes for. You own the Gate, but not the world beyond it. What is behind the Gate? Find out for yourself.
The description was confusing, but one thing stood out to the player. ‘You decide where it takes you.’ The player thought that the Gate was, well, a gate to another area. The player walked up to the Gate, intent on traveling to the unknown area just for him. He touched the Gate and a message appeared before him:
Will you open The Worlds Gate? Yes/No?
The player chose ‘yes’, excited for what would happen when the Gate was opened. The message faded and the Gate trembled, making loud shaking noises that could be heard by every monster, animal, player and NPC. Spreading out from The Worlds Gate, cracks appeared on the sky. Black light shined out from those cracks, reaching to the land below it. Where the light hit, the life withered and turned to ash, blown away with the wind. However, players who were touched by that light were frozen in place, unable to move. Many players attempted to log out, but found themselves unable to do so. Soon, the cracks had spread through the entirety of the sky, and the black light had covered the world, leaving it dead with only the disabled players alive.
Then, the sky broke.
Shattered.
Fell apart.
Snapped.
Ruined.
And behind the sky… was black. A black deeper than the night under a moonless sky. No color in the sky. The player who had opened the Gate was frozen in place. Not because of the black light, but because of shock and fear. And then The Worlds Gate… opened.
And the players of LOWG were forever trapped in that world sealed by The Worlds Gate.