The wind cut like a blade.
Rex opened his eyes to find a shattered moon hanging in the sky, its light broken into flickering shards of glitched code. The once-beautiful plains of Ethereal Age were now a wasteland—half pixels, half dirt, and all too real.
His hands trembled. His veins pulsed.
He could feel the heartbeat beneath his skin.
This isn't virtual reality.
This is reality rewritten.
He stumbled to his feet, the pain in his ribs screaming like a living thing. The last thing he remembered was the voice—cold, mechanical, full of judgment.
"Your punishment begins now."
"Who the hell are you?" he shouted into the empty horizon.
No answer. Only the static hum of the broken system.
Rex pulled up his menu—or tried to. Nothing appeared. No HUD, no map, no logout icon.
Only a faint shimmer in the air… a red text flickering like dying code.
[Error: Interface Offline.]
[World Merge — Progress 19%.]
He froze. "World… merge?"
The words pulsed once—and vanished.
He clenched his fists. The taste of metallic blood filled his mouth. "So this is what dying in the game feels like."
A scream echoed across the plains. He turned.
A group of players—real people—ran for their lives, chased by something that looked like a boar made of fire and wire. One of them tripped, crying out, "Help! Please—!"
Rex hesitated. He still had no weapon, no gear. But instinct took over. He grabbed a broken spear half-buried in the dirt and charged.
The boar lunged. Rex dodged and drove the spear through its eye.
Pain exploded up his arm as if he'd punched a live wire.
When the beast fell, its body shattered into burning code.
[XP Gained: 10]
[Skill Unlocked — Primitive Instinct.]
Rex blinked. "Wait… it's still giving me EXP?"
One of the players looked up at him with wide eyes. "You killed it… You're a real player, right? Please—tell me how to log out!"
Rex opened his mouth to answer—but froze when he saw the mark glowing on her hand.
It was the same red insignia that appeared on his when he was branded Fallen King Rexal.
His voice hardened. "No one's logging out."
The ground trembled. A message appeared across the entire sky—giant crimson letters spanning the horizon:
[System Announcement: Respawn Function Disabled.]
[Warning — Death is now permanent.]
The players screamed. Some dropped to their knees.
Rex just stared at the message, feeling his stomach twist.
The world had changed.
The rules were gone.
The game had become life, and life had become the punishment.
As the wind howled through the wasteland, Rex whispered,
"Alright then, System… let's see how long your world survives me."
The sky flickered again—this time showing a new quest.
[Main Quest: Kill the Fallen King.]
And below it, in red:
Target: Rex Valen.