October 12, 2030. 23:45. Location: Tokyo, Japan (Real World) / "Eternity" Server, "Dark Universe" Zone (Virtual World).
Under a sky where black and crimson colors intertwined, a colossal gate—nearly mountain-sized—stood towering. This was no ordinary gate, but the most terrifying and final raid in the entire "Eternity" game—the "Shrine of the Star Devourer."
The surroundings were silent. These servers, which once trembled with the clamor of millions of players, had now fallen into desolation. The gaming industry had developed rapidly, and people had moved on to new-generation neuro-network games. "Eternity" had... simply become a forgotten, outdated, and abandoned world.
But in this world, two hearts still beat.
"Do you have enough ammo, Shadow?" asked the girl in a gentle yet battle-ready tone.
Her in-game name was Light (Aira). She wore white, silk-like shimmering yet steel-strong "Celestial" class mage robes. Around her, four differently colored spheres—containing the elements of fire, water, earth, and air—constantly rotated. These spheres would speed up or slow down according to her emotions.
Kenji, or Shadow, checked his heavy, futuristically designed "Apocalypse-X" plasma rifle and drew the "Dragon Fang" sword engraved with ancient runes from the sheath on his shoulder. His appearance was strange yet perfect: half his body was covered in cyber-armor, while the other half resembled ancient samurai clothing. This was "Eternity's" uniqueness—you could combine any era, any style you wanted.
"I always have everything I need, Light," Kenji replied with a smile. His voice sounded slightly muffled through the helmet, but confident. "The main thing is, don't run out of mana. Today's the last day. We need to finish this."
Kenji was right. Today, the game servers were supposed to be completely shut down. The company had decided to close this project. Time in the virtual world passed 40 times faster than in real life. This meant that the 15 minutes remaining until server shutdown could equal just a few seconds in real time, but for them, it would be enough to clear this dungeon. They wanted to stretch out this moment—this farewell to this world and to each other.
"Let's go!" Kenji commanded.
They passed through the gate. Inside, the Cosmic Demon—Zargus—awaited them. This creature's body was made of stardust, and in its hands was an enormous axe forged from black hole energy.
[ATTENTION! RAID STARTED!] [BOSS: ZARGUS (LVL 999)]
Zargus roared and struck its axe to the ground. The force of the blow was so powerful that the entire dungeon shook. In a fraction of a second, Kenji soared into the air. His cyber-boots spewed reactive flames.
"Light, put up a barrier! I'll distract him!"
Kenji, hovering in the air, opened fire from his plasma rifle. Vijuuu! Vijuuu! Blue laser beams struck Zargus's armor and created small explosions. The boss looked at Kenji with fury.
At that moment, Aira began her spell. "Freezing Storm!" An icy wind from her staff enveloped the Boss's legs and slowed it down.
This wasn't just a game. For them, it was a dance. Having played together for years, they had reached a level where they understood each other's movements without words. Kenji used technology and swordsmanship, while Aira wielded the forces of nature, delivering incredible combo attacks.
The battle reached its climax. The Boss's health (HP) dropped to 10%. Kenji activated "Excalibur" mode. His sword became covered in golden light. "Now! Let's use all our power!" he shouted.
But at that moment... the sky split open.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE: 10 SECONDS UNTIL SERVER SHUTDOWN.] [ALL PLAYERS WILL BE FORCIBLY LOGGED OUT.]
Red text flickered in the air. "What?!" Kenji stopped. "There was supposed to be time left! According to calculations, there should be another 5 hours (game time)!"
Aira looked at Kenji with worry. "Kenji, the system's malfunctioning! Time has accelerated!"
Zargus took advantage of the opportunity and prepared its most powerful strike. Kenji sensed it. He jumped in front of Aira to protect her. "Absolute Shield!"
A thunderous sound was heard, but no damage occurred. Because the server code was beginning to break down. The environment was fragmenting into pixels, colors were mixing together.
Kenji looked at Aira. The girl's body was fading, becoming transparent. "Kenji..." Fear was in Aira's voice. She raised her hand into the air, trying to open the menu. "The 'Logout' button... it's pressing itself! I'm losing you!"
"Don't panic!" Kenji tried to grab her hand. "We'll see each other in real life! You know the address! I'll definitely find you!"
Aira burst into tears. "No, Kenji! You don't understand! The system is pulling me away, but you... it doesn't see you! Your data is being erased!"
[3... 2... 1...]
"I love you, Aira!" Kenji shouted at the top of his lungs.
The girl's fingers slipped from his hand. She vanished into the air like steam. [SYSTEM SHUTDOWN]
Darkness. Endless, bottomless darkness.
Kenji closed his eyes. He expected to remove the VR helmet from his head now, to wake up in the soft bed in his room. He expected to hear his little sister's voice saying "Big brother, food's ready."
One second passed. Ten seconds. One minute.
Nothing changed.
Kenji opened his eyes. He was still standing in that dungeon. But Zargus was gone. The red text was gone. Aira was gone. Worst of all—his Status Window was gone too. No "Exit" button. No system clock. No contact with admin.
He ran toward the inn, toward the city center. His speed was the same as before, his strength was intact, but the world... the world had changed. Massive cracks had appeared in the city sky, and from those cracks, fragments of other servers were falling. On one side, World War II tanks were crawling forward; on another side, Jurassic era dinosaurs were destroying buildings. Magic forests were growing up from within the megacities.
All servers, all genres, all eras had collapsed into one point—the center of "Eternity." And in this chaos, the only conscious being, the only human—Kenji—remained.
He looked up at the sky and shouted at the top of his voice: "IS ANYONE THERE?!"
Instead of an answer, only the roars of predators and the collapse of buildings could be heard. He was alone. Terrifyingly alone.
And this loneliness had only just begun. He didn't yet know that he would remain in this hell for exactly 80 years.