"Damn, this fight better be good," Wein muttered as he scanned the surroundings.
A crystalline void stretched endlessly in all directions—shards of light and color shifting, bending, refracting time itself. Hovering platforms floated across a black abyss, some suspended mid-fall, others frozen in strange distortions. Time fractured here, reality bent at odd angles.
This was Level 100—the final stage of the game Beast Realms: Eternal Dominion. A VR game he was currently playing.
"I spent most of my crystals buying the skills in the Shop and forging this sword. This better be a good fight—I need something cool to post again."
He stood poised atop a shimmering platform, his sword burning in his grasp. The blade spat tendrils of inky black fire that curled and danced like living shadows. Anything it touched was scorched into nothingness—reduced to black ash, erased from space and time.
Beside him, Midnight—his spirit beast, hovered threateningly. A crow-like entity with four bladed wings that glinted like forged obsidian. Its glowing blue eyes pierced through the haze of warped reality. Talons sharp enough to cleave steel flexed beneath its dark-feathered form as it circled above.
"Buddy, this is our final fight. You better not screw it up, or I'll have no choice but to sell you. It's now or never." He glanced at the spirit beast beside him.
Midnight let out a loud shriek.
Against them, A colossal crystalline beast, towering over thirty feet, descended silently from the void.
The boss monster of the Luminshards—the apex predator of this level.
Its body shimmered with transparent beauty, like sculpted crystal, each segment of its armored hide pulsing with veins of golden light. Jagged crystal spikes jutted from its back and shoulders, and its long, sinuous tail gleamed with razor-edged shards.
Its four massive legs crashed against the ground with each step, distorting space around it in fractured waves, warping time and reality as it moved.
Its roar was not a sound—but a resonating hum that vibrated deep in the bones, a soundless command that echoed through the air like the shattering of glass.
One blink—and it appeared across him.
"You've finally shown yourself," Wein grinned as he muttered, the adrenaline surged through him. "Let's end this."
The crystalline monster exuded a terrifying aura, as if it understood his words. Space warped, and crystalline shards tore through it, hurtling toward him.
Wein barely dodged as the platform beneath him collapsed—aged into dust in a blink. He flipped backward, landing on a newly-formed ledge. Above, Midnight screeched and dove, intercepting a spiraling crystal shard aimed for his head.
CLANG!
Midnight's wings clashed against the Luminshard's tail, throwing sparks into the air. Feathers scattered, dark and metallic. The spirit beast retaliated, slashing with unrelenting fury—raking through the battlefield in a deadly aerial dance.
Wein charged, the sword pulsing in his hands. He swung wide—an arc of black flame carved through the void, consuming every platform it touched.
The flame reflected in the crystalline body of the monster, drawing closer— Then time froze.
The flames halted mid-air. The Luminshard stepped forward—raised a crystalline leg and shattered the halted blaze like fragile glass.
Wein dropped low and rolled aside as time surged forward again—reality stuttering. A spear of compressed crystal whistled past him, embedding into the platform with a sonic boom.
His breath caught for a moment. Was this thing...too strong?
No, he didn't grind to Level 100 for nothing. He grit his teeth and charged again.
He jumped on the platform, landed hard, then thrust his hand upward. "Midnight—Phase Dive!"
Midnight shimmered and vanished, blinking through the distorted layers of space. It reappeared behind a Luminshard, claws flashing as it tore through the creature's back, cracking its core.
The Luminshard screamed, golden light flickering from its damaged center.
Wein didn't hesitate.
"End Spiral!"
He launched into the air, spinning his sword overhead. Flames coiled into a vortex, roaring with destructive heat.
Then—he brought it down.
A spiraling column of black fire crashed into the Luminshard, devouring half the battlefield in a storm of chaos. The monster roared, its form melting and cracking—time around them frantically trying to reverse, rewind, restore.
But the sword burned beyond time.
From the inferno, the Luminshard staggered forward. Its body fractured, glowing brighter—desperate.
"Now, Midnight!"
The spirit beast descended like death itself, wings extended like guillotines.
SLASH!
Luminshard's back cracked open. Its golden core was exposed.
Wein landed in front of it and drove his sword straight through the chest.
CRACK!
The Luminshard let out a last distorted roar. Then—its entire body disintegrated into dust.
The battlefield lay silent, the void now pulsing gently—no longer hostile.
Wein stood, chest rising and falling, the Sword fading to embers in his grip. Beside him, Midnight landed majestically.
Then a notification appeared in front of him.
[Congratulations, Player: Wein. You have completed Level 100 of the Beast Tower.]
[Title Unlocked: Beast God.]
Wein exhaled, a smile tugging at his lips. His heart was still racing from the adrenaline of the fight—the thrill lingering in his chest like a crackling current.
The feeling was exhilarating.
After weeks of grinding, he had finally conquered the final level.
It was over.
"Hahaha! I finally did it!" he exclaimed, laughing with pure satisfaction.
I wonder what kind of reward I'll receive?
No one else had ever managed to reach the final level—he was the first. Surely, they would reward him with a mountain of beast crystals, new skills, maybe even a rare spirit beast or a legendary weapon.
Wein's excitement surged just thinking about it.
Suddenly, the crystalline world around him was engulfed in brilliant light.
[ERROR: Data stream disconnected.] A pulse of light engulfed him, the system's voice glitching into static.
Unconsciously, Wein shut his eyes against the glare.
Then the entire space shattered like fragile glass.
When he opened them again, he found himself standing alone in the middle of a vast grassland.
The faint scent of earth and grass filled his lungs. The familiar UI—gone. His sword—gone. Midnight—
Huh? Where's Midnight?
A chill worse than the blowing wind crawled down his spine.