The village of Elorin's Rest looked no different than it had when she'd first passed through, old stone cottages, gently swaying lanterns, and the distant laughter of children weaving between the wooden fences. Yet, to Lyra Moonveil, everything felt off.
She walked slowly along the cobblestone path, her white boots crunching against pebbles. The wind tugged at her violet cloak, and her staff—the Veilstone—rested lightly in her grip.
The moment she stepped past the village threshold, the staff had pulsed faintly.
Again.
It wasn't the first time.
At first it was just in the game, but now...
The strange dreams had started ever since that notification—the one that said a dungeon had been cleared that should've been far beyond the level of any team.
And the name…
That was what brought her here.
"Rai…" she whispered the name again, tasting the syllables. She had no idea why, but it sounded familiar and also very important to her.
Not in the way one remembers a friend, or an old tale.
More like… something buried deep beneath the soul.
'It's just a game', she told herself for the hundredth time. 'This isn't real. It's just some hyper-immersion tech, not fate or prophecy or whatever that old man was spouting'.
Yet, despite the logic in her mind, her heart whispered something else.
She stopped near the village square, near the old well where vendors usually gathered. A few NPCs passed by, some waved, some didn't. She talked to many people, but no one knew the name Rai. None had seen a party leader or any strange dungeon-conquering heroes.
She'd asked everyone she could.
Still, nothing.
No sign of him.
No trail.
No face.
And that was the most infuriating part.
"Why can't I remember what he looks like?" she thought, her brows furrowed.
Night after night, dreams had started to plague her—flashes of battle, glimpses of a tall figure with disheveled brown hair standing over ruins, shadow dancing at his feet, a crooked grin on his face, his back always turned as he walked into smoke and flame.
But never a full face.
He had even puller her into an hug before, but even then she was unable to properly see her face.
It was like chasing a ghost, made of memories that weren't hers.
"And Eldrin that old bastard," she muttered, finally sitting on the edge of the well.
The old scholar had warned her, cryptically of course—as all annoying wise men do.
"When your paths cross, your staff shall pulse. Your heart will know. That will be your sign."
"And beware, child—should your fate intertwine with his, the world may never be the same."
She rolled her eyes at the memory. "You're lucky you're an NPC," she muttered aloud, rubbing her temple.
The Veilstone Staff trembled faintly in her grip again. Not violently—just a soft hum. Like a heartbeat beneath glass.
It had done this only twice before—once when she'd accepted the staff… and once when she'd read that dungeon notification.
"Why do I feel like I'm chasing something I've already lost…?"
She looked to the sky. The stars overhead shimmered, digital or not, and the wind whispered through the trees like a forgotten lullaby.
Suddenly, for just a moment, her pulse quickened.
Her heart throbbed—not in panic, not in fear, but in recognition.
She stood abruptly, eyes darting around.
But no one was there. Just the rustling of leaves and the empty path ahead.
The sensation faded as quickly as it had come.
And she was left alone again—with only her questions and a pulsing staff that refused to explain itself.
As she turned to leave, one final thought crossed her mind:
"What kind of person makes the world feel like it's remembering itself… when I haven't even met him?"
As the sun dipped into the horizon, casting the forest in shades of rust and gold, Rai found himself thinking about the road ahead.
"Back in the first timeline, I never made it this far this early, he thought. Level 14 so fast and on my way to level 15 before the first in-game week ends? That's insane. But it's necessary."
The game, Eidolon Realm, had a tight leash on players during the early stages. Unless granted a unique quest or event, players were restricted to the region around their spawn points. That included forests, low-tier dungeons, and the beginner's kingdom boundaries. Only upon reaching level 15 and entering one of the major cities could they access more regions, hidden events, and actual influence in the greater world.
And Velondar… Velondar was different.
He had already told Alex and Eron about the city, but now, he emphasized it again while they sat around a campfire.
"Velondar's the perfect place to base ourselves," Rai said, poking at the fire with a stick. "It's a merchant hub—always full of trade, guild recruiters, auction houses, and item crafters. If we play our cards right, we can earn serious coin, not just in-game… but possibly real-world conversion too."
Eron leaned back, resting his head against a mossy log. "Yeah. Yeah. We know, You must have told us a thousand times by now."
"I have indeed told you this many times.," Rai nodded. "But that only signifies how important it is for us to reach that place before evryone else. And Alex, we'll figure out your path too. I know you're not sure what you want to be yet. Healer, battle mage, hybrid—just know that you don't need to rush. You're doing great already."
Alex scratched his head. "Honestly, I've just been winging it. This world's so damn real, it's hard to remember it's a game sometimes."
Rai didn't say anything to that. He looked into the fire, his eyes reflecting the flickering orange glow.
'That's because it's not just a game', he thought. 'Not for me. And soon… not for the world either'.
The next morning, they resumed hunting. The pace had slowed slightly as fatigue crept in, but Rai pushed forward with determined focus. As they walked between trees, weapons at the ready, Rai's thoughts churned.
"Once I secure enough money from the game's first major update event… I can pay off the debts. Protect my family. After that, I can start focusing on what truly matters, Uncovering how the gods took control of the game world. Understanding how a supposed MMORPG gained sentience and divine hierarchy. That shit about the Ascension Protocol and the Path of The Forsaken, that i had told to that bastard Lucien. And also figuring out why he was brought back… and why this time, he was chosen.
His legacy class, the titles like Child of Ruin, none of them made sense together. It was as if someone—or something—had bent the rules of the world and given him a new path that didn't exist before. Was it a fluke? Or was he now playing a role that someone else abandoned?
And then there was the Moon Goddess.
'In my past life, she wasn't my enemy. She wasn't an ally either. She just… watched.'
But now? She'd intervened. Not directly, but through signs. Through the Blessed Sigil of Verdance, the strange vision, and the system message about fate divergence. It all pointed toward some connection being severed and reforged. But with whom? And why?
Was it Lyra Moonveil?
The purple-haired mage had a presence that shook the core of the game. Rai didn't fully understand it yet, but it was her who had been described and had appeared in lore tied to his reward. The Sigil of verdance, once meant for her, now displaced—perhaps fate itself was rebelling.
'And if it is', Rai thought, 'I need to make sure I stay one step ahead of it'.
A roar tore through the clearing, snapping Rai from his thoughts. Three horned bears emerged from the woods, each around level 16. The trio rushed into position—Eron flanked from the left, Alex prepared support spells, and Rai surged forward with his daggers gleaming.
Their movements were sharp. Coordinated. Eron would strike the legs, Rai the weak points on the back, and Alex would alternate between barriers and crowd-control spells. Despite their differences in playstyle, they were finally learning to fight like a true party.
After five minutes of tense, high-energy combat, the last bear collapsed. A rain of silver and loot shards fell around them.
[You have gained: Silver Coins x120, Bearhide Fragments, and Wild Essence (Uncommon)][Party EXP distributed.]
Alex grinned, checking his stats. "I'm 80% through level 13. Almost there."
Rai smiled faintly. "Keep pushing. We'll all hit 15 by tomorrow."
As the three walked deeper into the forest to set up camp once again, Rai took a moment to gaze up at the sky—virtual stars shimmering in the firmament.
Soon, the cities would open.