The Game Master's chilling words echoed across the Hollow Plains like thunder rolling through an empty graveyard.
"WHEN YOU DIE HERE— YOU DIE OUT THERE."
Rio's breath froze. A tightness gripped his chest, and he felt his knees weaken as the weight of those words sank like iron chains around his thoughts.
This was no prank.No glitch.No adrenaline-fueled simulation.This was real.
Around him, hundreds of newly arrived players—people transported here just like him—began to panic. Their voices filled the plains:
"Log out! LOG OUT!""Where's the menu?!""It won't open—nothing works!""What is this?!"
Rio frantically swiped at the air, trying to pull up a logout option. A system window flashed:
[LOGOUT FUNCTION: DISABLED][RETURN PERMITTED ONLY UPON COMPLETION OF THE GAME.]
He swallowed hard."What the hell kind of game is this…?"
But before he could spiral further, the Game Master lifted his cracked porcelain mask toward Rio's direction—though Rio could not tell if the GM actually saw him or simply scanned the entire player base.
His voice boomed again:
"SOULS OF THE NEW ERA… YOUR PATH IS NOT YET FIXED.""BEFORE THE GREAT BINDING COMPLETES, ONE FINAL CHOICE REMAINS."
The sky rumbled.The red fog surged around Rio, curling around his legs like tendrils.
Elyria—the guide—stepped backward as if forbidden to approach.
"Rio Javier," she whispered, her tone shifting… almost fearful. "You have been marked."
Rio froze."Marked? For what?!"
BOOM.
His interface burst open with blinding white light. The race-selection panel reappeared—but this time, it flickered violently, the symbols shifting and corrupted, as if someone—or something—was rewriting the system.
[SYSTEM OVERRIDE: ANOMALY DETECTED][FORCE-REALIGNMENT PROTOCOL ACTIVATED]
Rio stumbled backward, holding his head."What is happening to me?!"
Elyria's voice trembled."You were not meant to be… ordinary. Something in the Hollow has recognized you."
The Game Master's masked face angled downward.
"PLAYER RIO JAVIER… YOU HAVE CAUGHT THE ATTENTION OF THE SCYTHE."
The plains fell silent.Even the wind stopped.
A black symbol—shaped like a crescent blade—burned into the air before Rio.It pulsed with dark energy that tugged at his soul.
Rio felt it immediately.Like a cold hand gripping his spine.Like a whisper in his ear saying:
Choose me.Become mine.
The race options reshaped themselves—
— NEW RACE BRANCH: DEATH-ALIGNED —
Four new glowing emblems appeared, each surrounded by swirling black mist:
REVENANT – "Death Reborn" (Unlocked)A warrior reborn from the boundary of life and death.Scythe affinity: ★★★★☆
HARROWED – "Walker of the Hollow Veil"Semi-corporeal beings tied to shadows.Scythe affinity: ★★★★★
SCYTHEBOUND HUMAN – "Chosen of the Reaper's Code"A modified human with innate scythe mastery.Scythe affinity: ★★★☆☆
BONE EIDOLON – "Servant of the Silent Grave"Skeletal entity bound by soul threads.Scythe affinity: ★★★★★
Rio stared, breathless.
This wasn't random.This wasn't an unlock available to all players.This was a selection made for him.
His eyes drifted toward the glowing icon at the center—the one he had been denied earlier.
REVENANT.
Elyria murmured, "To choose a Death-aligned race is to choose a burden. Power, yes… but at a cost."
Rio's fingers trembled as he hovered his hand over the Revenant emblem.
"Why me?" he whispered.
The Game Master chuckled low.
"THE SCYTHE DOES NOT CHOOSE AT RANDOM.""IT HAS SEEN YOUR WILL—THE ONE WHO FOUGHT EVEN WHEN HOPE WAS SLIM."
Rio thought back to the Hollow Beast…How he fought, even terrified.How he refused to give up.
He clenched his jaw.If this world wanted to kill him, then he would become strong enough to survive it.
He pressed the icon.
A violent shockwave erupted—Wind blasted outward—The ground split beneath his feet—
[RACE SELECTED: REVENANT][SUB-ALIGNMENT: SCYTHE USER][WEAPON OF FATE: SHADOW-REAPER SCYTHE ACQUIRED]
A long, obsidian-black scythe materialized in front of him.Its blade gleamed like moonlit steel.The handle felt cold, as if forged from the night itself.
Rio grabbed it.
Darkness wrapped around his arm, spiraling upward like smoke.His heartbeat synced with the weapon's pulse—A perfect, terrifying harmony.
Elyria spoke again, her voice shaking:
"You have chosen a forbidden path… a path feared even by the Hollow."
The Game Master spread his arms wide.
"REJOICE, PLAYER RIO.""YOU ARE NOW A CHILD OF DEATH.""AND THE GAME… TRULY BEGINS FOR YOU."
The sky exploded in crimson lightning.A shockwave knocked players off their feet.Rio's vision blurred—
—Then a final message appeared.
[THE SCYTHE MARK HAS BEEN BRANDISHED UPON YOU][YOUR DEATH SHALL CARRY WEIGHT IN THIS WORLD][THE WORLD WILL WATCH YOU.]
Rio tightened his grip on the scythe, breathing hard.
Fear.Excitement.Resolve.All blended inside him.
If this world wanted him dead…Then he would carve his survival with the blade of the Reaper itself.