The cold hit Eli Steele like a slap. One moment he'd been in his dimly lit apartment, headset on, ready to test The Codex. The next, he was sprawled on the ground, gasping for air, frost biting into his skin as if he'd been plunged into an arctic wasteland. He scrambled to his feet, clutching his sides, his breath visible in the icy fog swirling around him.
The world was too real.
No loading screen. No tutorial pop-ups. Just the deafening silence of a snow-covered battlefield stretching to the horizon. Broken swords and shattered shields jutted from the ground like gravestones, their owners conspicuously absent.
"What the hell?" Eli muttered, his voice hoarse.
A faint chime echoed in the distance. Turning, he spotted something: a glowing orb hovering a few feet away. It pulsed with a soft golden light, bathing the desolate landscape in warmth.
"Player identified," the orb said in a voice too human for comfort. "Welcome, Eli Steele, to The Codex. Please confirm your participation."
Participation? He frowned. Was this part of the game? Did I miss the intro sequence?
"Uh, sure?" he replied hesitantly.
The orb spun rapidly, its glow intensifying. "Confirmation accepted. Please note: there are no respawns. No resets. Complete all missions to exit. Fail, and your consciousness will be permanently terminated."
"What?!" Eli stumbled back. "What do you mean, 'permanently terminated'? It's just a game!"
"Incorrect." The orb's voice turned cold. "Your life is now integrated into The Codex. Mission One: Survive the Trial of Frost. Time remaining: fifteen minutes."
The orb vanished in a flash, leaving Eli alone. The ground trembled beneath his feet. Ice cracked and shifted, and from the snowy horizon, shapes began to emerge—dark, hunched figures moving unnaturally fast. Their glowing blue eyes pierced through the fog, and Eli's gut twisted.
Wolves. No. Not wolves.
The creatures were larger, their skeletal forms wrapped in frost-coated fur. Their exposed teeth glistened like jagged icicles. A growl ripped through the air, deep and guttural, vibrating in his chest.
Eli spun in a circle, searching for a weapon. His heart hammered. His inventory screen wouldn't open—his HUD was nonexistent. What kind of beta test is this?
"Okay, think, Eli," he muttered. "It's just a game. Figure it out. Survive the trial. That's the mission."
A sharp howl split the air, and the first wolf lunged.
Eli barely dodged, rolling to the side as its claws raked the spot where he'd been standing. Scrambling to his feet, his hand found something—an old, rusted sword half-buried in the snow. He yanked it free just as another wolf charged.
Instinct kicked in. Eli swung wildly, the blade colliding with bone and fur. The creature yelped, staggered, and then dissolved into a cloud of ice shards.
"Gotcha!" he shouted, but his victory was short-lived. Three more wolves emerged from the fog, their movements unnervingly coordinated.
His hands shook as he gripped the sword tighter. "You've got to be kidding me."
The pack closed in, their growls harmonizing like a death knell. Eli backed up, his foot catching on something. He fell hard, the cold biting through his clothes. Above him, the largest wolf loomed, frost steaming from its jaws.
"This is it," he whispered.
The wolf lunged.
And then a figure appeared—a blur of black and silver—cutting through the air with twin blades. The wolf collapsed mid-leap, its head rolling across the snow.
Eli blinked, stunned.
The figure turned, lowering their hood to reveal sharp features framed by jet-black hair. A woman, her silver eyes glowing faintly in the dim light.
"First-timer?" she asked, offering him a hand.
"Uh… yeah?" Eli stammered, gripping her hand. She pulled him to his feet with surprising strength.
"You're lucky I came through here," she said, wiping her blades clean. "Name's Lena. And unless you want to die before the tutorial ends, you'd better stick close."
"The… tutorial?" Eli's head spun.
"Yep." She pointed her blade at the horizon, where more wolves were emerging. "This isn't a game. Not anymore. Welcome to The Codex. Now run."
Eli didn't have time to argue. As they sprinted across the frozen wasteland, the growls behind them growing louder.
Eli trying his best to catch up to Lena but she was as fast as a swift of wind . As he was running he could hear the stomping and growling noises of the wolves.
But he was just too scared to even look behind.Eli was running out of breath . His chest felt very heavy.
As he was trying to catch his breath, only one thought echoed in his mind :
'What the hell i have gotten myself into ?'