I
"Ugh…" I groaned, slumping back in my chair. My eyes were glued to the glaring white text on my PC screen.
[Thank you for playing Questworks Online.]
It was an end-of-service announcement. After thirteen years, my favorite MMO was shutting down for good.
"I only stopped playing for a week, and this is what I get?" I muttered, running a hand through my hair. "Oh man, I was so close to finishing the main storyline..."
The announcement said the servers would shut down today at exactly midnight. I glanced at the clock in the corner of my monitor: 9:32 PM. Two hours and twenty-eight minutes left.
It wasn't much, but it was enough. Enough to take on the final boss of the latest expansion and leave my mark on the game's history. Call me obsessed, but what better way to say goodbye to a world I'd called home for over a decade?
"Let's do this, Micah," I said, cracking my knuckles. My character's avatar appeared on the screen—a silver-haired maiden with a hybrid magic-warrior build. She looked as ready as I felt. I'd spent the last few weeks meticulously stocking up on items and tweaking her gear. If this was the end, Micah was going out in tip-top shape.
I logged in, and the familiar sights and sounds of Questworks Online washed over me. The game had aged, sure, but it still held a charm no other MMO could match. Thirteen years ago, I'd taken my first steps into this world, and now I was about to take my last.
Micah zoomed across the map, her insane Movement Speed was cutting through the distance like a hot knife through butter. We bypassed weaker monsters along the way, glancing at the clock as I approached the final location.
"Three minutes ahead of my best time," I said with a grin.
The cathedral loomed before us, its gothic spires reaching toward a stormy sky. Torn and crumbling, it looked every bit the final stage of a grand adventure. Micah pushed open the heavy doors, and the screen faded to a cutscene.
Standing at the center of the podium was Black, the enigmatic lich who had haunted players since the game's early days. Half his body was skeletal, the other half still clinging to decayed flesh. His human eye—the one that wasn't just an empty socket—wept silently.
"I… I am so… sorry…" Black's voice echoed through the cathedral, filled with regret and despair.
I let the cutscene play, even though time was against me. It felt wrong to skip it, like rushing through the last chapter of a beloved book.
"The end of the world… is inevitable… there is no escaping it," Black intoned.
A dialogue box appeared on the screen. I chose the top option, staying true to Micah's character.
"Unfortunately, you won't be able to see the End of the World for yourself," Micah said, drawing her curved sword—a weapon reminiscent of a katana, gleaming with enchantments.
"It is because you are going to die today."
So badass.
I stretched my fingers and neck as Black began trembling. The cutscene transitioned to gameplay, and I unleashed a barrage of powerful skills before he could finish his transformation. This was basic MMO strategy—hit the boss while they're vulnerable.
"Horizon of the End!" Micah's ultimate skill cleaved through the screen, splitting the world in two with an otherworldly glow. Black's health bar took a massive hit. I followed up with concentrated elemental blasts and aura-infused slashes, my fingers dancing over the keyboard like a pianist playing their magnum opus.
I counted down in my head. The transformation sequence would finish in three… two… one.
Micah teleported outside the cathedral just as it collapsed in a thunderous roar. From the rubble emerged Black's transformed form: a massive black dragon, its scales glistening like obsidian, its eyes burning with unholy fire.
"We can do this, Micah," I said, adrenaline surging through me. "Let's kill this dragon!"
The battle was on, and I wasn't just playing a game anymore. I was making history. For Micah. For Questworks. For thirteen unforgettable years.
"But seriously, this dragon is serious work!"
Our initial salvo only cleaved a tenth of Black's health. A tenth. My stomach churned as I stared at the massive dragon looming before Micah. Its level display floated ominously above its head:
[Level 100]
Then I glanced at Micah's level display:
[Level 99]
The current level cap in Questworks Online was 120, but gaining experience in this game was notoriously grueling. A one-level difference wasn't just a number; it was a chasm of power. I clenched my jaw, determined to make up for it with skill.
Black roared, his breath attack streaking toward Micah in a wave of molten destruction. My fingers flew over the keyboard, guiding her into a sharp sidestep. The flames missed her by inches, leaving scorched ground in their wake.
"Left side," I muttered, steering her into position.
With a flick of my fingers, I unleashed a barrage of long-range spells: Fireball, Ice Spire, Rock Bullet, Wind Arrow. Each one flew toward Black, glowing with the amplified power of Micah's Extreme Magic passive. Even her basic spells hit like freight trains, forcing the dragon's health bar to tick down bit by agonizing bit.
But it wasn't enough.
Black retaliated with a swipe of his colossal tail, the sheer force of it creating a shockwave. I barely managed to teleport Micah out of harm's way, her figure reappearing a safe distance from the impact zone. Sweat beaded on my forehead as I juggled movement skills, potion usage, and attack timing. This fight was going to be a marathon, not a sprint.
Every time Micah's big skills came off cooldown, I didn't hesitate.
"Horizon of the End!" I activated her ultimate skill again.
It was a dazzling slash that seemed to cut through the very fabric of reality. The dragon's health bar dipped again, but the damage was nowhere near what I'd hoped for. Black's roar echoed through the battlefield, shaking the screen as he launched another devastating attack.
Micah dodged, weaved, and countered, her movements precise and calculated. I alternated between long-range tactics and close-quarters strikes, exploiting every opening I could find. The fight dragged on, my focus unwavering as I chipped away at Black's seemingly endless health pool.
Then came the shift.
At 50% health, Black reared back, his entire body radiating with a crimson aura. My heart sank as I realized what was happening: the enrage phase. His attacks would now be faster, deadlier, and harder to predict.
"Stay calm," I whispered, my hands steady despite the chaos on the screen. I guided Micah into a defensive dance, using her movement skills to stay one step ahead of the dragon's onslaught. Dark energy rained down from above, each blast creating craters in the ground. Micah darted between them, her agility pushed to its limits.
When the barrage subsided, I seized the opportunity to go on the offensive. Fire, ice, wind, and earth spells rained down on Black, each one landing with precision. Micah's sword flashed as she closed the distance, delivering a series of devastating melee strikes before retreating to safety.
The cycle continued: attack, dodge, heal, repeat. Minutes felt like hours as the battle wore on, every move a calculated risk. Slowly but surely, Black's health bar dwindled.
Twenty percent. Fifteen. Ten.
"Almost there," I muttered, my fingers a blur as I unleashed another combo. Micah teleported behind Black, striking at his hind legs before retreating. The dragon roared in fury, his attacks growing more erratic.
At five percent health, Black reared back one final time, gathering energy for a massive attack. The ground trembled as crimson light enveloped his body. I knew this was it—the last move of the fight. One mistake, and it would all be over.
"Horizon of the End!" I activated Micah's ultimate skill for the nth time.
Micah's blade glowed with an otherworldly light. She dashed forward, her attack colliding with Black's in a brilliant explosion of energy. The screen shook, and for a moment, everything was still.
Then, with a deafening roar, Black collapsed. His massive body dissolved into light, leaving behind a shimmering pile of loot. The words appeared on screen:
[You have defeated the Mourning Dragon.]
I leaned back in my chair, my heart pounding. Micah stood triumphant in the ruined battlefield, her sword sheathed as the victory music played.
"We did it," I said, a small smile creeping across my face.
But before I could savor the moment, the screen flickered. A new notification appeared:
[Congratulations, player. You have unlocked the hidden storyline: The Final Echo.]
"What?" I leaned forward, staring at the screen in confusion. The digital clock in the corner of my monitor read 11:59 PM.
And then, everything went black.
Ever been in the void where eternal oblivion awaited you? No sound. No light. Just endless nothingness stretching out in every direction. Floating. Floating. Floating.
The weightlessness wasn't comforting; it was suffocating. My thoughts scattered, slipping through my grasp like grains of sand. I couldn't tell how long I'd been there, suspended in the emptiness. Minutes? Hours? Days?
Before I truly lost myself to the void, something flickered in the darkness.
[Reward: Skill]
[Skill: Time Stop]
[Description: Pause. Play. Dominate.]
[Tier 10]
[Class: Unique]
[Type: Active]
[Cooldown Time: None]
The glowing text hung in front of me, a beacon of clarity in the abyss. I blinked—or maybe I just thought I did—but the words didn't fade. They etched themselves into my mind, sharp and vivid.
Tier 10? My brain latched onto the detail, clinging to it like a lifeline. There was no Tier 10 in Questworks Online. The highest was Tier 9, and even those skills were the stuff of legends. Only a handful of players had ever unlocked one.
It didn't make sense. None of this made sense.
The description wasn't any help either. "Pause. Play. Dominate." It sounded less like a skill and more like a tagline for a sci-fi movie. And no cooldown time? That had to be a mistake. Cooldowns were a fundamental part of the game's balance.
But as I stared at the text, an odd feeling crept over me—like the game wasn't done with me yet.
The void began to shift, swirling as if stirred by an unseen force. The words glowed brighter, their light spilling over into the surrounding darkness. I reached out instinctively, but before I could touch them, my body grew heavy. Too heavy.
The void pulled me under, and I fell.
I fell… And fell… And fell…