[Core Cave Exit – The Dead Zone]
I emerged from the mouth of the giant cave, greeted by the scorching, sulfur-laden air of the "Dead Zone." Behind me, I left a graveyard for six giants and one foolish commander. In my hand, I clutched a worn leather bag, and inside it… "the fate of this world."
The moment I stepped beyond the cave's threshold, and before I could take a second step, a pain unlike any I had ever known struck me.
"ARGH!!" I screamed, falling to my knees, then collapsing face-down as I clawed at my face. It wasn't a natural pain; it felt like a fire-poker was being driven into my cornea, as if an invisible hand was slowly and brutally carving into the inside of my right eye. There was an audible sound inside my skull… crack… tsss… the sound of stone being etched into flesh.
In that moment, a system message appeared in a brilliant blue, as if branded into my consciousness:
[Alert: "Eyes of Sin – Level II (Blue)" has been activated.] [Exchange Required: Extraordinary power demands a place in consciousness.] [Result: 15 minutes of your recent memory has been randomly erased.]
"Damn it…" I whispered, trying to recall the details of the fight. I remembered entering the hall, I remembered the giants… then suddenly, there was a "black hole" in my mind. How did I get here? How did the last guardian fall? All that remained was a sense of destruction beneath my fists, but the "scene" had evaporated.
Then, as quickly as it had begun, the pain stopped completely.
I lay on the ground for several minutes, panting, cold sweat drenching my face. I wiped my eye with a trembling hand. There was no blood, but the heat radiating from it was terrifying. I stood up unsteadily, dragging my body toward a pool of stagnant water trapped between nearby volcanic rocks.
I leaned over the water and looked at my reflection.
I caught my breath. My right eye wasn't just blue; it glowed with a cold, celestial radiance. The ancient symbol that had appeared previously was no longer just a "dot." It had been carved with greater clarity, and a "sharp horizontal line" had been added across the top, making the symbol more complex and majestic.
"So this is the tax…" I whispered, touching my eyelid. "With every level of perception that ascends, the symbol completes itself… and carves itself into my flesh."
I returned to the bag and opened it to see the system message flashing coldly:
[Notice: The "Keystone" has been detached from its position.] [Global Defense Protocol: "Skyfall" is in preparation.] [Time remaining until collapse: 23 hours and 59 minutes.]
I smiled and closed the bag tightly. The blurred memory no longer mattered; what mattered was the power I felt coursing through my veins.
"One day…" I whispered, looking up at the incredibly distant rocky ceiling that covered the Dwarven world. "One day, and this ceiling will flip to become the floor that crushes you."
I began my journey back. I didn't run. I walked slowly, savoring every step. My body still ached, and dried blood covered me, but the "euphoria" numbed everything.
[Ironhold City Gate – Several hours later]
I reached the city limits. The blue bioluminescent lights flickered, and the sounds of market bustle and daily life reached my ears. Ironhold. The fortress of pride and bigotry.
I entered through the main gate this time. The guards on duty—not the elite, but ordinary guards—saw me coming. I looked like a nightmare. A human monster stained with black and red blood, dragging my feet, carrying a mysterious bag.
"Halt!" one of the guards shouted, leveling his spear at me. Then he squinted at my face. "You… you're that slave Commander Borjan took!" The guards surrounded me quickly. They looked behind me. They looked at the distant horizon. No one. No army. No carriage. No Borjan.
"Where are the others?" the guard asked sharply, grabbing me by the collar of my torn shirt. "Where is the elite squad? Where is Commander Borjan?"
I looked at him with hollow eyes (a calculated performance). "They're dead…" I said with a trembling voice. "They… they're all dead."
A stunned silence fell for a moment, followed by an explosion of rage. "Liar!" The guard slapped me across the face with his iron gauntlet. I fell to the ground (voluntarily). "How could the kingdom's elite die while scum like you survives?!" the guard screamed, kicking me in the stomach. "You ran! You filthy coward! You abandoned them and betrayed them!"
A crowd gathered. They weren't just soldiers; they were civilians—women, children, and the elderly. Did they sympathize with me? Did anyone try to stop the guard? No. I saw a small dwarven child, no older than seven, pick up a stone and hurl it at me while laughing. "Hit him! Kill the outsider!" the child screamed, and his mother beside him clapped, encouraging him: "Well done, my son! Teach him his place!"
A fat merchant spat on me as he passed. "Filthy race… brings nothing but trouble. We should have executed him in the square from the start." Everyone… without exception… looked at me like a plague. There wasn't a single innocent soul in this city. Their hatred for others ran through their veins like venom.
"I will kill them all…" I whispered internally, protecting my head from the kicks and stones. "Not just the guards… but all of you…"
"Enough!" the captain of the guard shouted. "Don't kill him here! The King will want to hear what happened… then he will skin him with his own hands." They shackled me again and dragged me through the main street toward the palace, amid the insults and spit of the "noble people."
[Throne Room – Palace of King Gorath]
They threw me before the throne like a bag of trash. King Gorath sat there, surrounded by his advisors and sorcerers. He was holding a golden wine goblet, but when he saw me alone, the cup froze in his hand.
"Where…" the King spoke in a voice both quiet and terrifying. "…where is my army?"
I knelt on my knees, head bowed. "No one survived, My Lord… the ancient guardians… they were monsters."
Gorath stood up. His face flushed a dark red with fury. He smashed the goblet on the ground. "Dead? All of them? And you are alive?!" He descended the stairs with heavy, rapid steps and drew a sword from the belt of one of his guards. "Borjan… my best man… died while you are still breathing?" He stood over me, raising the sword to take my head. "You ran, didn't you?! You coward! I will drink your blood before you die!"
The sword rose. Everyone in the hall held their breath, waiting for the execution. I didn't move. I didn't beg for mercy. Very calmly… and with a very slow, deliberate motion, I reached into the leather bag I was clutching.
And I opened it.
A brilliant blue beam erupted from the mouth of the bag. It illuminated the King's furious face and the dark ceiling of the hall. The sword stopped mid-air. Gorath's eyes widened. The rage in his features gradually transformed into shock… then disbelief… and finally, pure greed.
I pulled out the "Core." I raised it with trembling hands (acting) above my head, as if offering a sacrifice to a ruler. The crystal was pulsing with a hypnotic sound. Woom… woom… The gravity in the hall shifted slightly.
"Impossible…" The sword fell from the King's hand. Gorath fell to his knees before me (not for me, but for the Core). He reached out his shaking hands to touch it, as if touching a dream. "You… you brought it?" the King whispered, his eyes tearing up with hysterical joy. "You… brought the key to the world?"
I looked at him with innocent eyes. "Yes, My Lord…" I began my perfectly crafted lie. "I didn't run… we executed your order." "Commander Borjan… he was a hero." I forced a tone of grief into my voice. "He fought the six guardians alone to distract them. He screamed at me: 'Ray! Run with the Core! Fulfill the King's dream! Don't let my death be in vain!'" I wiped a fake tear. "He sacrificed himself and his squad… so that this gem would reach your hand." "I am just a messenger… I survived thanks to his sacrifice."
The King didn't hear half of what I said. He was captivated by the beauty of the Core. But he caught the part he liked. The King laughed. A loud, booming laugh. "Borjan!" the King shouted with joy. "That loyal dog! I knew he wouldn't fail me!" He turned to his advisors. "Did you hear? He died screaming my name! That is how men die!" Then he looked at me and spat on the ground beside me. "And you… you did what you were created for. Rats are good at sneaking and stealing while lions fight." He snatched the Core from my hand eagerly and hugged it to his chest.
"We are free!" the King shouted, raising the Core high. "Gravity is mine! The sky is no longer our limit!" The hall erupted with the cheers of soldiers and advisors. "Long live King Gorath! Conqueror of Gravity!"
I looked at them. I looked at their foolish joy. [Time remaining: 18 hours.] You aren't celebrating freedom… you are celebrating the opening of the gates of hell.
The King turned to his head of servants. "Hear my command! Today… we shall hold the greatest banquet in the history of Ironhold! Open the food stores! Bring out every barrel of wine! I want every dwarf in the city, from the youngest child to the oldest elder, to drink until they are senseless! Tonight we celebrate… and tomorrow… tomorrow we use the Core to ascend to the surface and rule the world!"
The King looked at me one last time, a wide, yellow-toothed smile filling his face. "And you, slave… since you brought me my throne…" He tossed a small coin pouch at my feet. "You may attend the banquet. Whatever falls from the tables is yours. This is my final mercy to you."
I bowed deeply to hide the demonic smile that began to form on my face. "Thank you… My Lord." I backed away slowly, leaving them to dance around their time bomb.
I exited the hall, the echoes of cheers shaking the palace. I walked down the long corridor and stood at the balcony overlooking the city. The city was beginning to light up with torches. People were pouring into the streets to celebrate the news that had spread like wildfire. The children who threw stones at me… the fathers who spat on me… the King who insulted me… everyone would gather tonight in one place.
I placed my hand on the stone railing. My eyes turned a cold blue for a moment. "Eat… drink… and dance…" I whispered to the wind that carried the scent of coming death.
"It will be a very enjoyable banquet… Gorath."