The Rusted Pass stretched far beyond sight—an endless wasteland of sand, stone, and the skeletons of old structures swallowed by time. Whatever this place had been, its purpose was long forgotten. Only the wind remembered.
Metatron crouched near a weathered altar half-buried in the sand. Strange runes pulsed faintly along its edge, reacting to his visor's energy. He brushed the dust away, revealing a symbol shaped like a broken circle.
Cyberius leaned against a fallen pillar, arms crossed. "So this is where your ghost friend wanted to take us?"
Jack nodded, his patched cloak fluttering in the dry wind. "The Core Frontier lies past those ruins. The old explorers called it a forbidden zone. No system quests. No map markers. Just rumors of relics older than the game's world-building itself."
Metatron traced the rune with one gloved hand. "No system quests means no limits."
Jack smirked faintly. "Or no respawns."
The wind picked up, carrying grains of sand that shimmered faintly under the sunlight. A low hum began to rise—not mechanical, but alive, like the land itself was stirring.
Cyberius drew one revolver, eyes narrowing. "You feel that?"
> [Warning: Unknown Phenomenon Detected]
The ground trembled. From beneath the dunes, an enormous stone pillar cracked through the surface, glowing with red glyphs. It rose higher and higher until it blotted the sun, symbols spinning in the air around it.
Jack stumbled back. "That's not supposed to happen—players were never able to trigger the seals!"
Metatron didn't move. His visor scanned the formation. "It's responding to something… my energy signature."
The glyphs shifted, aligning into a spiral. At its center, a faint doorway of light began to form.
Cyberius cocked his revolver. "You're not thinking of walking into that, are you?"
Metatron's voice stayed calm. "We came this far to find the Core Frontier."
Jack stared into the swirling light. "Whatever's inside that seal—it predates every update. You won't find loot in there. You'll find history."
Metatron holstered Daylight and stepped closer, the light from the portal reflecting off his visor. "Then let's rewrite it."
The winds howled louder, the runes pulsing brighter as if answering his words.
At that moment, the land of Ascender Online shifted again—quietly, unknowingly—toward the beginning of something greater.