The lights flickered once..then twice. A faint hiss, like static caught in silk, shimmered through the air as the energy signature resolved.
From the shadows of the hall, something stepped forward.
No, glided.
The figure looked human...mostly. A young woman dressed in a crisp maid outfit, though it shimmered slightly like holographic armor woven into fabric. Her hair, long and platinum-silver, drifted behind her as though underwater. Her eyes gleamed with soft, opalescent light, and at her back were two miniature, translucent wings made of pure energy, flickering with quiet lightning.
She's just a maid...maybe.
She stopped exactly three feet from Andrew, bowed at a precise 45-degree angle, and spoke in a lilting, clear voice that had a slight mechanical undertone.
"Welcome home, Master Andrew. I am Eve. Your Dreamer Abode Mini-Valkyrie Support Construct."
Andrew blinked. "...You're a what now?"
She straightened, placed a hand to her chest, and smiled with practiced warmth. "I am a Compact Dreamer-Class Valkyrie, Sub-Type Support, Model E-V3. You may call me Eve. My function is to assist you, serve you, protect your abode, and answer any existential dread-inducing questions you might have about DreamSurge."
Andrew tilted his head, lips quirking. "So... basically an AI maid?"
"Incorrect." Eve gave a polite shake of her head. "I am a cosmic support construct forged in the celestial forges of the Ninth Heaven and blessed by the Algorithmic Warden of Unrealities. I also do laundry."
He grinned. "Yep. AI maid."
Eve said nothing, but her left eye pulsed red for exactly 0.3 seconds.
Andrew stepped inside, eyes wide. The hallway welcomed him with cool air and a subtle scent—lavender and starlight, somehow. The interior stretched wider than the outside suggested, like the space was folded neatly into a surreal origami. The walls shimmered with soft gold veins that pulsed gently, giving the illusion the house itself was alive—or at least dreaming.
To his right, a living room with floating cushions that rearranged themselves as he entered. A transparent fireplace that burned silver-blue flame. Above it, a painting of a dreamscape forest that subtly changed every time he glanced away.
To the left, a door opened into a sleek, futuristic kitchen.
Andrew's stomach roared.
He dashed in like a child discovering candy for the first time. "Holy spaghetti, there's everything in here!"
He opened the fridge. It was stocked. Not just food...dream food. Fruits glowing with inner light. Meats wrapped in cosmic foil. A soda can labeled "Nebula Fizz—Fizz So Good It Bends Space".
He turned to Eve, face glowing with joy. "Okay, this place is officially heaven."
"I'm from there," Eve said, deadpan.
He was already stuffing his face with something purple and vaguely donut-shaped. "Mrmph...what is this?"
"Starlux pastry. Highly nutritious. Slightly addictive. May cause dream hallucinations."
"Sweet," he said, eating another.
After a few more bites (and minor eye-twitching), Eve guided him further into the estate. She showed him.....
A bedroom with a bed that adjusted its temperature, softness, and even gravity.
A library with empty shelves that filled with knowledge as he leveled up.
A meditation chamber that played whale sounds from other dimensions.
Finally, they reached a vast open space, smooth obsidian floor, target dummies floating in the air, and a massive wall screen displaying combat stats.
"Your personal training arena," Eve announced. "Comes with full feedback damage projection and simulation modes. Warning.... breaking walls costs coins."
Andrew whistled. "This is way better than a gym. Or a dojo. Or any home ever built."
As he took it all in, a question tugged at his mind.
"How'd you end up in this game, Eve?"
Eve turned toward him, wings flickering once. "All mini-Valkyries are summoned from the Heavens to assist DreamSurge participants. Particularly humans."
"Why humans?"
"Because you are," she paused, as though searching for a polite term, "...the most confused creatures ever documented in the multiverse."
Andrew choked on a laugh. "Fair."
He leaned on a railing. "So... who summoned you?"
Eve blinked.
Then her face glitched. Literally. Her features pixelated, her eyes flickered with unreadable code, and her voice warped into static:
"Su—zzzt—MAK—HEA—zRRRrrT—"
Andrew flinched. "Whoa! Are you okay?!"
She snapped back to normal, smooth as silk.
"I am fine," she said with a mechanical smile, though her eyes betrayed a flicker of unease. "That answer is currently... unavailable."
"Right. I'll just file that under extremely shady but somehow still comforting."
Eve gestured toward a sofa that formed from the floor like liquid glass.
"Would you like to rest now, Master Andrew?"
He dropped into it, sighing. "Yes. Food, new home, mysterious Valkyrie assistant. That's a full day."
She nodded. "And tomorrow... the next stage begins."
"Right," he murmured. " I'm not doing it tomorrow...just passed the qualification stage, might as well relax"
The lights dimmed. The house gently pulsed, like it too was breathing.
And somewhere in the cosmic network of DreamSurge... something took note.
Andrew stepped forward again, and the doors closed behind him with a whisper. The light dimmed slightly, as though the Abode were adjusting to his presence.
Eve continued ahead, her metallic wings twitching faintly. "Come, Master. You've only seen the surface. There's more."
As they walked deeper into the house, passing elegant chambers, glowing maps, and an observatory that looked into shifting constellations not of Earth, Andrew paused.
"Wait... you said something earlier. About who summoned you."
Eve froze mid-step.
"Right. Who was it? Was it the system? A god? Another Dreamer?"
She turned to answer, but her face glitched violently. Her features shattered into pixelated shards, her eyes flickering with static.
A high-pitched screech tore from her mouth. Not a scream....more like a corrupted file trying to speak.
Andrew staggered back. "Eve?!"
Then, just as suddenly, she stabilized. Her form solidified. She smiled again as if nothing had happened.
"I'm sorry, Master," she said sweetly. "That information is... not permitted."
Not permitted by who?
Before Andrew could press her, a new prompt appeared, blood-red and trembling at the edges.
[Warning: Irregular Detected by Higher Entity]
[Observation Initiated]
And beneath it, a name flickered in black text, barely visible before vanishing...
[The Elders Of Null watches]
[The Forgotten One sees all]
"Huh..."
Andrew's stomach turned to ice.
"Eve… what the hell is the Forgotten One?"
She didn't answer.
She was already kneeling.
And for the first time since the game began, Andrew felt something he hadn't felt even when surrounded by death.
He felt small.