The massive explosion subsided, and Kai pulled himself up, along with all the players around him. Something had crashed into the village.. and it did not look good at all. Kai immediately made a run for it to see what the hell was going on. Everyone behind him did the same, with Deimos being the fastest.
Within a few seconds, she had even caught up to him. She did not look like she was simply running to see what had happened—there was desperation on her face, frustration.. fear? She glanced at Kai just once as she ran past him and left him behind, the amusement in her eyes completely gone. It was as if she were running to save her own home from disaster.
The green spirit breathing technique was the source of her enhanced speed. Kai, along with everyone else, could only follow behind. It didn't seem urgent enough for him to use his skill. He was simply curious about what new thing had happened..
The village itself wasn't something he particularly worried about. But the image of his NPC aunt and uncle flashed before his eyes—her kindly forcing him to eat more, and him patiently teaching him everything he knew. It felt like he was losing something personal. His heart was too closed off to truly feel for mere digital data, but even making him feel this much was a feat worth noting.
As they neared the outskirts of the village, they saw a massive crater with dozens of houses burning in its shadow. A gigantic dark blue figure rose from the crater, hurling dense balls of bright purple energy all around, blowing hut after hut to bits.
It had a thick, muscular humanoid body with a lizard-like tail, spikes running from its neck to the tip of its tail. Its face looked pure evil, reveling in launching blasts and enjoying the background noise of people shouting, crying, and desperately trying to save themselves and others. The neon-glowing metallic accessories covering its blue body were a direct indication of what it was—an Exodian... a pure-blooded Exodian.
What in the hell was going on? A character murdering innocent people without a care in just the first few hours into the game..? Nyxfall was not this graphic—at least, the old one wasn't. It was still a game beloved for its story and characters. This couldn't be a normal thing.
Once all the players, including Kai, crossed a certain distance from the village, selective cutscenes of their characters began playing within their minds. The scenes unfolded from a bird's-eye view, showcasing the avatars they had been spawned as in this game. Yet, the perspective was no longer in their control. It felt like watching a movie—one they could observe from any angle they wished. They were no longer just players but pieces of the story itself. The headgear emulated not only the visuals but also the emotions and senses of their characters, immersing them into the depths of their stories.
If one chose to experience the cutscene through the first-person perspective, every breath, every ache, every sensation came alive—painfully real. Otherwise, the emotions alone would echo in their minds as they drifted near their characters, like silent phantoms observing a life that was both theirs and not.
Kai's preferred method was to walk beside his own character. He had already seen his appearance while editing the first video, but now, with vivid orange eyes flickering in the dim light, his avatar carried a sharper, more striking presence. His character was running—sprinting at full speed—towards the burning village.
Desperation. Helplessness. The one fragile hope against hope. Kai felt it all, heavy and suffocating. The scene mirrored the destruction he had glimpsed earlier, yet this time, the perspective was different. The character wasn't racing towards the village center but towards the outskirts—towards home.
His house.
When the blackened, crumbling structure finally came into view, the character skidded to a halt. Horror froze his face mid-step. The flames crackled, devouring what remained. Anguish. Terror. The creeping dread that what he sought would no longer be there. Kai could feel it—raw and consuming—as his character fell on his knees motionless, the weight of the scene pressing into every muscle. Without a single blink or twitch, the avatar's eyes began to leak—tears streaming down, uncontrollable. Silent. Broken.
Kai didn't move either, locked in the flood of emotions. This wasn't just a cutscene.
It was grief made real.
But before he could even cry in peace, another powerful, fast ball of energy shot toward his direction from the monstrous figure. Along with it came laughter—maniacal, psychotic—crueler than poison. Each sound made Kai's heart swell with uncontrollable, boiling rage. Perhaps simply watching this scene wouldn't feel as emotional, but having spent days with his NPC family—their lifelike characters—Kai couldn't detach himself. He had later discovered that he was actually not related to them by blood. His original family had been close friends of theirs, and when they died during his early childhood, this family adopted him without a second thought. The love they showered on him might not have been for the real him, but it had been without a doubt, true love.
He wanted to split the whole world in two.
Suddenly, a primal scream resounded across the entire hillside, piercing the hearts of anyone who might have heard it. Kai watched as his character's face contorted with fury. The avatar's gaze snapped upward—straight at the monstrous figure hovering high above, still laughing.
In the next second, a terrifyingly oppressive orange energy exploded outward in a massive wave, accompanied by a deafening blast. His entire body ignited in bright orange flames as he pulled out his bow, aiming directly at the dark blue Exodian. Enhanced by the blazing energy, the arrow shot forward with blinding speed, packed with devastating power. Kai's eyes widened at the sheer force behind the attack.
What the hell was going on? What power was this?
Yet the Exodian didn't even flinch. He didn't dodge or acknowledge the powerful arrow in the slightest. His character gritted his teeth, fury seething beneath every muscle. With a knife in hand, he activated Godstep, closing the distance in a heartbeat. Kai found himself transported beside him.
Time slowed. The weak teenage boy—barely 5'10"—knife in hand dwarfed in the shadow of the towering blue Exodian, whose name tag read Lord Bloodthorne. The creature loomed over ten meters tall, a nightmarish presence radiating raw power. Yet there was no fear or doubt in his character's eyes—only pure, unyielding rage.
But alas, as one might expect.. he was nothing more than a bug before the overwhelming might of the pure blooded Exodian. Kai watched as Lord Bloodthorne's massive hand swung through the air, delivering a thunderous slap that sent his character hurtling back at twice the speed he'd charged forward. His body crashed into the burning village below, carving out a crater as blood spurted from his mouth and head. Consciousness began to slip away.
Yet, standing right beside him, Kai heard the last words his character muttered before blacking out.
"Run, bastard.. If you have any sense. Today I am weak but one day I will come for you, let you rediscover the true meaning of fear! Not even the demons of hell will spare you from my vengeance.."