Endless stairs led to Malthorak's dark throne. The rocky plateau stood at a dizzying height, far beyond the great city, in the icy wastelands of the Everfrost Plains. The snowstorm blew almost sideways across the expanse, where, in this phase of the battle, ritual grooves and dark demonic symbols of the Otherworld glowed on the ground around them.

"What are you waiting for, Veela?" Noxxi shouted.

"I'm trying, damn it!" Veela slammed her beloved Voidstriker. "Nothing! This thing won't work!" She lifted her gaze from the blaster in her hand. She had no idea what the symbol on the stone meant. The one that looked like an infinity loop crossed by a diagonal line. But one thing was certain: every time that symbol started glowing like it was now, her Starfall ability, the only AoE skill that could clear these hellish creatures off her team, would fail.

There's no way to break this curse!

Except waiting it out.

Great.

She holstered the Voidstriker at her thigh and quickly swapped it out for a rare dagger she’d looted from the Gatekeeper half an hour ago, driving it into the heart of a passing creature.

Like swarms of fireflies, sparks of light rose from the ground around the group and floated toward the dungeon boss. Malthorak, the fallen knight. Once, in a long-forgotten aeon, he had been the Grand Marshal of a battalion of Space Raiders. Now, he gathered the energy from this once-thriving land, channeling it into a devastating attack.

More and more creatures of the night swarmed around them, winged beasts with spindly limbs and bony wings, descending from the thunderous storm clouds. They called them gargoyles. Adds like these didn’t need fancy names. They were ugly, creepy, annoying, but most of all: they came in overwhelming numbers.

"Watch out, behind you!" Veela shouted.

Electra’s reaction implant kicked in instantly. She drove her katana deep into the chest of one of the winged creatures, where it lodged. In one smooth motion, she pulled out her laser pistol and shot the demon lunging at her from behind, right in the mouth, before its claws could tear into her.

Electra ripped the gleaming sword from the gargoyle’s chest and slashed her way through the horde, when suddenly, Veela received a whisper that froze her in her tracks.

To [Veela]: He waits for you in Khar'oneth. You will soon meet him.

Veela’s heart clenched.

That voice.

It was unmistakably demonic.

A chill ran down her spine.

Was that... Malthorak whispering to her?

But how could she understand him?

Veela pulled up the settings on her interface. The chat log showed an unknown whisper, but the message was just a cryptic jumble of unrecognizable symbols. She blocked it, just as hundreds of gargoyles came crashing down from the dark rift beyond the storm clouds, diving into the hunt. That’s where their nest was, a tear in spacetime, a portal kept open by the Demon Prince, from which these hideous creatures poured.

A dozen of the grotesque beasts dove straight toward Veela.

Damn it, this wasn’t part of the plan!

Kazzy, the group's Guardian, struggled to hold back the sheer masses of hellish creatures. With his taunt aura, he drew the hatred of fifty, maybe sixty of those demonic beasts. He carried a massive enchanted shield, bigger than he was, as the creatures flew at him, slashing and tearing at his armor with their claws.

At that moment, Noxxi cast an energy shield on their Guardian.

Immediately, several of the demonic gargoyles turned their attention to her.

With a sharp whistle, Veela sent Larry into the fray.

The augmented German Shepherd shot past Veela in a blur, catching a creature mid-air, sinking his fangs into the demon’s flesh and bringing it down.

Then the next one.

He barked furiously, drawing the attention of the abominations. Dodging the dive of one gargoyle, he was already bracing for the next. There were too many.

"Damn it! Larry, get back!"

Veela fired several shots at the creatures from a distance, but she was too far away, and these bastards were too fast.

She activated her sprint, and her suit pumped a massive dose of adrenaline into her system, triggering her strength implant. A quick 30-second buff that boosted her strength by 10%. Her muscle fibers bulked up and tightened in a fraction of a second.

With superhuman speed, she dashed across the icy ground, sliding beneath the swooping creatures, as she fired at the gargoyle that had sunk its fangs into her dog. She blew off the gargoyle's left arm, then shot a hole through its bony chest, and with the third shot, blew its head apart.

Black blood sprayed into the air.

Larry lay whimpering on the ground, puncture wounds in his fur.

There were just too many.

The group wasn’t dealing nearly enough damage.

And they were missing a member in this final phase.

Despaired had been blown right off the plateau during Phase 2 by one of the Demon Prince’s attacks. A costly mistake for such an experienced hero. The shockwave had sent him plummeting into the abyss. And this, despite them having studied the guide beforehand.

Now their chances were looking worse than grim. The whole group knew it. But it was far too late for pessimism now.

Suddenly, another dozen demons plummeted from the sky, diving straight at Veela. These brutal, bloodthirsty creatures would tear her apart in seconds. The huntress bent over Larry and quickly vanished into the Shadow Dimension. A place between worlds, where the coordinate grid from which the world was created became visible. The very fabric of the universe, holding everything together and connecting it all.

For that moment, Veela existed between worlds.

It made her untouchable, but also prevented her from interacting with anything around her. A prisoner between life and death.

Her interface issued a warning: with every second spent in this in-between state, she lost a piece of herself. It started with small, insignificant memories, but eventually, it would lead to the complete dissolution of her identity.

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She had to think fast.

The night creatures circled the area, just beyond where she stood, shrieking and wailing as they searched for her.

Another swarm of adds rushed toward Noxxi.

"So much goddamn shit!" Veela screamed, but no one heard her.

The fight against Malthorak was a total disaster.

Heroes from other timelines had shared their knowledge with the world to defeat the Creator of Horror, but no one had ever made it to Phase 4, where they were now. There was no guide for this phase!

And then Veela saw that there were only three of them left.

Electra lay on the ground, her body slashed open. A pool of blood spread beneath her, and the rare samurai sword from another dungeon boss lay beside her. Her guts hung from her belly, while the gargoyles feasted on her flesh, gnawing at her intestines and tearing off her hands.

"So much fucking shit!"

Veela was the only damage dealer left alive. And what was she doing? Hiding between worlds to protect her beloved Larry. The gargoyles would do to him exactly what they did to Electra if she stepped out of the Shadow Dimension.

She cared more about saving her dog than her own life.

Then, another voice broke through her thoughts: "You know our agreement! Malthorak’s death is the top priority! Defeating him is our only goal. We’re all going to die. All of us!"

This time, it wasn’t the Demon Prince but a whisper from Kazzy. The Guardian was already badly injured. Her interface showed his status: his Rage Meter was nearly maxed out. The Guardian had to be angry for the implants in his body to function, allowing him to use his abilities. But his health bar kept dropping into the red, barely staying alive thanks to a quick burst of healing, while the healer drained the last of his mana reserves, refilling them with stimulants.

The Cast Timer on Veela’s interface showed that the Demon Prince had less than ten seconds left before finishing charging his final attack.

How were they supposed to survive this?

Nine seconds.

Eight.

Should she break cover and rush blindly into death, or try to save Larry?

She could get him to safety. Maybe.

Six seconds.

Five.

Was she really letting her teammates die right now? Was she really just sitting here thinking?

Suddenly, the night creatures scattered.

Where were they going?

They had stopped attacking Noxxi and the Guardian.

But why?

Four.

Three.

The dark nether runes on Malthorak’s ancient Space Raider armor glowed with a cold blue light, just like his eyes. The human being Malthorak had once been was barely visible now. The Darkness had completely consumed him. The corruption had penetrated the deepest parts of his soul. Horrific growths of chaotic energy burst from his armor. Tentacles erupted from his back with such force that they tore through the metal plates. Malthorak grew even taller, raising his claws to the sky, and suddenly, the impenetrable shield surrounding him disappeared.

Veela didn’t hesitate for a second. She teleported from the coordinate grid between worlds, appearing behind Malthorak, the demonic beast, and reached for her glowing dagger.

She used her Hack’n’Shlash ability, slicing through the swirling tentacles with both speed and grace. In a swift spin, she severed one of the grotesque limbs, dodged another, and blocked a third with her kinetic arm shield. All of it cost her 30 Stamina Points. Her heart pounded wildly beneath her light armor. She was out of breath, feeling her muscles burn with fatigue from the exertion.

In her desperation, she did something she had sworn never to do.

She activated the chaos ability Assassinate.

Her face twisted with fury. Her eyes bloodshot, her gaze wild.

With inhuman strength, she drove her curved blade into his throat, feeling a piece of her humanity slip away with the vicious strike.

The scale on her interface indicated she had just taken one step closer to the Shadow Realm.

To [Veela]: Yes. Yes! That’s it. Embrace your rage. In this world, fury is freedom. The whole world will be free when he awakens. He’s waiting for you.

Not that voice again! Hadn’t she blocked it?

Consumed with anger and bloodlust, she slashed his throat open.

40 Stamina Points gone.

Black, poisonous blood gushed from the wound, eating holes in her suit, but she didn’t even notice. Malthorak gargled as his own blood filled his throat.

Then she heard him laugh.

Again, inside her head.

In the next instant, Malthorak’s demonic claw grabbed her, his talons piercing her armor and digging into her shoulder. A crack. Then another. Her shoulder blade was broken. So was her collarbone.

Veela screamed.

Her heart pounded.

Blood sprayed from the wounds.

Then the Demon Prince hurled her ten or twelve meters through the air, before she crashed onto the snow-covered ground, carving a path through the snow, before slamming into a rock. Her helmet shattered against the stone, the visor splintering into her face.

The interface went dark.

But she didn’t need a display to see that they were screwed.

She pulled off her ruined helmet.

All around her, glowing circles with runic inscriptions appeared on the ground. Chaos runes, unreadable to her, but the message was clear: they needed to get out of those circles fast, because the boss was about to cast a massive AoE attack.

While Noxxi and Kazzy kept moving, her German Shepherd, Larry, lay gravely injured in one of those magical circles.

Veela rose, fighting through unbearable pain, and staggered toward her dog.

I have to get him out of this damn circle.

But it was too late.

She heard the electric crackle of lightning, discharging immense amounts of energy all around her. Like the crack of whips, the lightning flashed past her ears.

Veela bent over Larry to shield him. She squeezed her eyes shut. Buried her face in his blood-matted fur.

They were right in the middle of the circle.

She was certain she was about to die with her dog.

...

...

...

But it didn’t happen.

She opened her eyes to a narrow slit.

That’s when she realized Malthorak had tricked them.

The magical circles weren’t markers for where the next attack would land like usual.

They were protection circles—for survival.

And Veela survived, thanks to her injured dog.

But the lightning storm raging across the plateau killed Noxxi instantly.

She was nothing more than a charred, shriveled corpse. Her skin had fused with the fabric of her epic robes. Smoke rose from her body, and the steady wind carried the sickening stench of burnt flesh toward Veela, making her stomach turn.

Kazzy, the Guardian, was still alive. But he could no longer hold his giant shield. It lay beside him as he knelt, leaning on his sword. The indicators on his armor glowed red. If the interface ever went down, the colors were supposed to signal the healer when he needed healing.

Malthorak stomped toward the Guardian.

With each of his steps, the plateau shook.

"No!" Veela screamed.

Then he drove his massive demon sword into the Guardian’s chest. The blade pierced through his body and jutted out from his back. Malthorak lifted the impaled tank into the air, bringing them face to face. She heard the Guardian whimper inside his helmet.

Then Malthorak placed his clawed hand over his head.

And squeezed.

He crushed the Guardian's head in his hand.

Then dropped the body.

The heavy tank crashed to the ground. Snow flew into the air. His armor was so heavy that the stone plateau cracked from the force of the impact.

Dead. They are all dead.

Then Malthorak turned toward Veela.

If she wanted to survive, she had to get out of there. Fast!

She tried to vanish into the Shadow Realm. But Nethercloak was still on cooldown for another minute. She’d never survive that long. Even if she managed to dodge every one of his attacks, it wouldn’t be enough. She had no med-gel left and was bleeding badly. The PDA on her wrist displayed her injuries as a heavy debuff, draining 3% of her health every second.

The dungeon boss drew closer.

The ground trembled.

Another step.

Closer.

He stopped right in front of her.

A giant.

A monster.

Unbeatable.

He raised one of his heavy armored boots and stomped down on her leg. Her light armor couldn’t withstand the force. Her shinbone snapped like a dry branch under a hydraulic press.

Veela screamed.

She immediately lost 20% of her health, her health bar now deep in the red.

We should’ve looted the dimensional stone from his corpse, she thought, her face twisted with pain. Instead, he had killed all of them.

Veela could only pray that someone else would succeed one day. But time was running out for the world.

With her final breaths, she suddenly remembered how, back when she still lived with her parents and the world was right, nightmares like these used to haunt her. Nightmares of demonic creatures and unimaginable horrors. Premonitions of what was to come. But back then, there had always been an escape: waking up.

Here and now, there was no escape.

A wipe meant the end for the entire group.

Death was final.

Life couldn’t be restored.

And it was all her fault.

She never should have joined the raid.

She was 3 levels below the other group members, not to mention her gear’s item level.

"Damn it," she hissed through gritted teeth.

Malthorak raised the bloodied demon sword. The blade hovered over her chest.

To [Veela]: He waits for you in Kharoneth, beneath the hills. You will meet him soon.

"I’ll pass," Veela muttered. She squeezed her eyes shut.

Reached for her dog. Felt his soft fur.

She thought of the past.

When Larry was just a puppy and she still lived with her parents.

If only she hadn’t gone to Seoul, looking for adventure.

How she wished she could go back to her childhood home.

That was her last thought.

Then Malthorak brought the blade down on her.