The Gates shattered, their once-imposing beauty reduced to a storm of flying shards, each gleaming like a fragment of a broken mirror. They scattered across the ground in a cacophony of light and sound, leaving behind an empty, desolate archway. I stood there, staring at the wreckage, my breath hitching as I tried to comprehend what I'd done. My eyes widened, then narrowed, emotions colliding—shock, disbelief, and a gnawing sense of dread.
Was this real? Had I finally done it?
Or was this another trick? The system had played its cruel games before, dangling victory just out of reach like a taunting specter. For years, it had been the master puppeteer, pulling strings I couldn't cut.
But this… this felt final.
"I… I beat the system," I whispered, the words foreign and disjointed on my tongue. I mean, I didn't really beat the system, but let me enjoy the moment. A small, hollow laugh escaped me—exhaustion turned it into something more like a wheeze. It was hard to believe. Fifty years. Fifty long, agonizing years of battling this relentless machine, clawing my way through its labyrinthine trials. And now…
Now, it was over.
Or so I thought.
I sank to my knees, my fingers trembling as I brushed them against the dirt beneath me. "What now?" I muttered. The gates—broken and lifeless—called me forward. But beyond them was the unknown. Another layer. Another challenge. Another world where I could very well die.
I hesitated. Maybe I should go back to my camp, get some rest and heal. Maybe even say goodbye to my friends. Friends. The mannequins. Steve, Alex… What was others' names? I forgot. They were scraps of wood and cloth from a time when my sanity was weak. But they were there when no one else was.
"Guess I owe them that much," I said, forcing a weak smile.
But the moment I turned, the system struck again.
[Error 701 Detected.]
[Must stop human from entering at all costs.]
[Repairing Gates...]
The notification burned into my vision like a brand. I whipped around, my heart sinking as I watched the shards of the gates lift into the air, trembling as if caught in an invisible current. Piece by piece, they began to reassemble, reversing the damage with terrifying speed.
"No," I breathed, the word sharp and bitter. "No, no, no."
I stumbled backward, my mind racing. "The gates… it's fix itself to keep me out!" The realization hit me like a hammer. The system wasn't done with me—not yet. Whatever lay beyond those gates, it didn't want me to see it.
Which meant I had to go.
Now.
"I can't waste any more time!" I shouted, my voice raw as I sprinted toward the narrowing gap. The glow of the gates grew brighter, their edges sparking as the final shards locked into place.
My legs burned. My chest screamed for air. But I pushed forward, throwing myself through the flickering archway just as the system sealed it shut behind me.
For a brief moment, there was nothing.
No sound. No light. Just an endless, suffocating void.
"Goodbye, Steve. Alex," I murmured into the darkness. "And… the rest of you. You were good company. For mannequins." The joke was bitter, but it kept the overwhelming silence at bay.
Then came the notification.
[Warning: You have made a huge mistake.]
The void twisted around me, folding in on itself like a collapsing star. My stomach lurched, and nausea clawed at my throat as the world shifted once again.
[Runner has successfully passed the Tutorial World. Now moving to Layer 2…]
I froze.
Tutorial?
My entire existence—fifty years of pain, suffering, and survival—was nothing more than a tutorial?
"No," I whispered, my voice trembling with anger. "No, you don't get to call it that. Fifty years. Fifty years! And you call it a—"
The wind hit me like a slap to the face, cold and unrelenting. My words were ripped from my mouth as the void spat me out into the open sky.
For a moment, I thought I was free.
Then I realized I was falling.
The clouds whipped past me in a blur, and the wind roared in my ears. I flailed, my body spinning as the ground rushed up to meet me. Below, an endless expanse of green stretched out—a forest, dotted with patches of sunlight filtering through the canopy.
[Successfully transferred to Layer 2 - World 2]
[Welcome, Runner, to the world of Ethoria.]
[Ethoria is a lush, magical realm of untamed greenery, mythical creatures, and ever-shifting landscapes. Towering forests, glowing rivers, and misty peaks conceal ancient secrets, while kingdoms thrive alongside flamebreathing dragons, ethereal beasts, and star-lit wolves. Magic pulses through the land, reshaping it unpredictably in the Verdant Surge. At its heart lies the legendary World Tree, said to hold the essence of life. Ethoria's beauty and danger make it a world of boundless adventure and mystery.]
[Goal: This world is currently being overthrown by Revenants and is destined to fall. In order to ascend to the next Layer, Runners must save this world and clear the Revenants.]
How did this damned system expect me to read this while falling?!
"Dammit!" I screamed, the wind stealing the word before it could leave my mouth. Birds scattered as I hurtled past, their startled cries lost in the chaos.
The ground came closer. Too close.
I braced myself, teeth clenched and heart pounding, as the forest loomed larger. And then—
Impact.
The world exploded into pain and darkness, and my consciousness faded into the void.