The seal broke on the winter solstice.
Kaelen felt it from a thousand miles away—a tear in reality that screamed against his senses like nails on
glass. The Council's citadel shook as alarms blared through every corridor.
[WORLD EVENT: Seal Breach Detected]
[Location: The Shattered Peaks]
[Entity: Ancient One - Name Unknown]
[Threat Level: APOCALYPTIC]
[Quest Generated: The First Battle]
"It's too soon,
" Archon V eyra gasped, her form flickering with instability.
"The seals should have held for
another century!"
"My growth accelerated the timeline,
" Kaelen said grimly.
"This is my responsibility.
"
"Your death sentence, you mean,
" another Archon snapped.
we barely contained them the first time.
"
"That thing is beyond any of us. Even together,
Kaelen checked his status. Level 58. Not enough. Not nearly enough.
But he had something the Archons didn't.
He had [Infinite Regression].
"Open a portal,
" he commanded.
"I'm going to fight it.
"
"You'll die!"
"Probably.
" Kaelen smiled.
again. Until I win.
"
"But I'll learn something before I do. And then I'll come back and try again. And
The Shattered Peaks were aptly named. The Ancient One's emergence had split the mountain range in
half, creating a valley of molten rock and floating islands where gravity had ceased to function properly.
The creature itself defied description. It was a mountain of flesh and crystal, with too many eyes and limbs
that existed in dimensions Kaelen couldn't perceive. Just looking at it caused his sanity to fray at the edges.
[Sanity Check: 87%... 73%... 65%]
[Warning: Prolonged exposure may cause permanent mental damage]
"Hey!" Kaelen shouted, his voice amplified by void magic.
"Ugly! Over here!"
A thousand eyes focused on him. The pressure was immense, crushing, but Kaelen had felt worse. He had
died in worse ways.
"Sovereign.
" The Ancient One's voice was the sound of glaciers calving.
our feast.
"
"You rejected our gift. Now you will be
The first attack came without warning—a wave of conceptual energy that rewrote the laws of physics in
its path. Kaelen dodged, barely, and countered with a V oid Lance that could have pierced a dragon's heart.
It bounced off the Ancient One's hide like a pebble.
"Okay,
" Kaelen muttered.
"Tank class. Got it.
"
He died seventeen times that day.
Each death taught him something new. The creature's weak points (there were three, hidden in
dimensional folds). Its attack patterns (cyclical, repeating every 144 seconds). Its regeneration rate (faster than
he could damage it alone).
The eighteenth attempt, he brought help.
"Seraphina, now!"
The princess emerged from a portal behind the Ancient One, her staff blazing with holy light. She struck
the first weak point while Kaelen distracted the creature, her magic bypassing its defenses through pure
conceptual opposition.
The Ancient One screamed.
"Again!" Kaelen shouted, dodging a limb that passed through three dimensions simultaneously.
"Hit the
second point!"
Working in perfect synchronization—achieved through countless deaths and retries—they wore the
creature down. When the third weak point shattered, the Ancient One's form began to destabilize.
"This... changes... nothing...
" it gasped as it dissolved.
"W e... are... legion..."
Then it was gone, leaving behind only a crystallized essence that pulsed with corrupt power.
[Ancient One Defeated!]
[Reward: 500,000 XP]
[Reward: Ancient Essence (Corrupted)]
[Level Up! x8]
[Current Level: 66]
Kaelen collapsed into Seraphina's arms, exhausted beyond measure.
"You idiot,
" she whispered, tears streaming down her face.
Through our bond. Do you know what that was like?"
"You absolute idiot. I felt you die. Every time.
Kaelen had forgotten about the bond they had formed months ago—a connection that let them share senses
in emergencies. She had felt every death. Every moment of agony.
"I'm sorry,
" he said, and meant it.
"Don't be sorry.
" She held him tighter.
"Just win. Whatever it takes, whatever you have to do—win.
"
He promised her he would.