Hero's Quest: The End of the World.
That's the name of the game.
It has a total of twenty acts. Five arcs for each act.
In this game, the world is split into two.
On one side is this continent.
On the other is a place the hero was supposed to explore after the tenth act of the game.
That tenth act was when this continent was supposed to be destroyed. Then, the player would escape to the other side of the world—the Higher Realm, as it was called.
Well, all this was written in the game's guide. I never really reached that level since I always got stuck on the seventh arc. I just couldn't get through it, and just when I was about to, the TV and console shut down. The next thing I knew, I was dead.
In this world, there are four major races. However, a fifth race exists, though they are often disregarded because they are perceived as the most supreme beings currently alive—apart from the once-existing celestial gods and primordial evils. This race consists of dragons.
But for the past twenty to thirty years, dragons have not been seen in this continent. It is suspected that they may have become extinct, similar to the dwarves, which could explain their absence.
But the truth is, the dragons were all on the other side of the world. In fact, this part of the world is more or less an isolated fragment of the whole. Plus, in the story, it was only a matter of time before this continent got destroyed. So it wasn't even relevant to the story.
The division occurred back during the Age of the Extinction of Gods, but I don't know the full story since I didn't finish the game. According to what the story hinted at, it's as though something is hidden here—something that will become a catalyst for the end of the world.
The only people who know about the other side of the world are the higher powers: the high-class nobles and the emperors of various empires here. But they can't go there, as the boundary between the two realms is filled with a poisonous substance dangerous to destroy one's mana pool. The only way there is through the Academy, but none of them dare venture to the Higher Realm. Everyone there is just on another level of power, so it's already an honor for them to attend the Academy itself.
That doesn't mean people from the lower realm never go to the Higher Realm—it happens. But the reverse is impossible. People from the Higher Realm are forbidden from coming to the lower realm, and the game never explained why. They could come, but they wouldn't last long due to being poisoned by the mana here.
Anyway, the other main races include humans, elves, and vampires, while the dwarves have gone extinct. In their place, mermaids have emerged. There are also other races, like the Trydaqs and the Nyphtens, but these are considered minor races.
This world contains a vast continent home to multiple empires, but all these so-called empires are composed of the higher races. Thus, there are four primary empires:Azure, Yggdrasil, Hermix, and the underwater empire of Mermaidian. Unfortunately, most races harbor deep-seated animosities toward one another, making it rare to find allies among them.
...
...
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
At first, the knight chasing after Amael dismissed the roar as a cry of pain, likely due to the arrow lodged in his calf. But with each passing moment, he felt it...
... Something was wrong.
Terribly wrong.
[System Online]
[There has been a deviation from the plot of fate.]
[User has attained an unknown ability.]
[Attempting to erase all that is not recorded in the plot of fate...]
[Error.]
[System encountered an error during the process.]
[It has been determined that the ability obtained by the user has attached itself to the user's soul.]
[Ding!]
[System encountered a problem.]
[Unable to stabilize the user's emotions.]
[It has been determined that the user's emotions are being influenced by the recently attained ability.]
[Identified.]
[Unknown.]
[It has been determined that the Unknown has an effect on the user's emotions.]
[Rage.]
[Unable to stabilize emotions.]
[System attempting to forcefully shut down the user...]
[Error.]
[Rage: 30%...]
[Error.]
[Rage: 40%...]
[Error.]
[Rage: 50%...]
[Error.]
[Rage: 55%...]
[Error.]
[Rage: 65%...]
[Error.]
[Rage: 70%...]
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Pain.
Unimaginable pain engulfed Amael as he clutched his head, which felt as though it was on the verge of imploding. He had no idea why... why he felt this much torment.
Yes, he had been shot in the leg, but was that enough to justify this level of agony?
This... this was unlike anything he had ever experienced before.
His organs felt as though they were tearing themselves apart. His body heated to the point where his skin turned a deep, almost molten shade of red. His clothes began to burn, disintegrating under the heat emanating from him.
He couldn't comprehend what was happening to him, but he could feel it—something was awakening within him.
... Something better left sealed.
Then suddenly...
... it stopped.
Amael froze entirely, motionless like a marionette whose strings had been cut.
"What... happened? Is he... dead?" one knight asked, his voice betraying his unease.
"I don't think—" began another, only to be thrown violently mid-sentence by a force none of them could resist.
[An ability detected from the Unknown.]
"Hehehe..."
A sinister chuckle escaped Amael's lips. Slowly, he stood, his posture unnervingly steady. He turned to the knights, his face unreadable, but his eyes were not.
They glowed with a strange, otherworldly brilliance. Pupils unlike any they had ever seen before.
[The Eyes of the Blessed.]