The iron gate slammed shut behind them, cutting off all daylight. The temple's interior was cold and silent, only the faint blue glow of the relic illuminating the stone walls covered in ancient gene runes.
Ella's voice came softly through the earpiece. "It's so quiet in here… are you scared?"
Karen tightened his grip on Firebrand. "Not scared. Ready."
Sophia signaled the team to spread out. Tank took the lead with his shield raised, Blaze and Frost staying close for magic support, Hawk perched on a broken pillar to watch for threats, and Jason sticking to the shadows.
"These runes look like gene sequences," Frost muttered, staring at the glowing carvings. "Like the ones Dr. Cole talked about."
Karen nodded. His gamer instinct screamed that every step could trigger a trap. He'd spent years surviving underground arenas—he knew how to read danger before it struck.
They advanced fifty meters when the ground rumbled.
The blue glow flared violently. From the shadows emerged massive stone golems, their bodies made of temple rock, their eyes burning with the same faint light as the relic.
"Level 10 Stone Golems," Hawk snapped. "Three of them!"
"Tank, hold the left!" Karen shouted. "Blaze, burn the right! Frost, slow them down! Sophia, with me—we hit the center one!"
The golems slammed their fists into the ground, sending shockwaves across the floor. Tank planted his shield and took the hit, grunting, but held his ground. Frost unleashed a freezing fog, coating the golems in ice and slowing their movements.
Karen and Sophia charged together.
He activated Rage Fire, his sword blazing, and slashed at the golem's legs. Sophia stabbed at its chest core, her blade glowing with holy light. The golem roared, swinging its massive arm—Karen shoved Sophia aside, taking the hit on his shoulder.
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His health bar dropped sharply.
"Karen!" Ella cried.
"I'm fine," he breathed, ignoring the pain. "Now!"
He drove his sword into the golem's knee joint. Sophia thrust her blade into its glowing core.
The golem froze, then shattered into rubble.
One down. Two left.
The team fought in perfect sync. Tank absorbed damage, mages unleashed destruction, Hawk picked off weak points, Jason flanked and harassed. No one wasted a move. No one hesitated.
For the first time, Karen didn't feel like a lone mercenary.
He felt like part of something.
When the last golem collapsed, the entire temple shook. The path ahead opened, revealing a circular chamber—and at its center, a floating blue crystal pulsing with soft light.
Gene-Bound Relic
The air hummed with power.
"That's it," Sophia whispered, awestruck. "The relic."
As they stepped closer, a shadow descended from the ceiling.
A huge, black-scaled beast landed between them and the relic—level 12, Temple Wyrm, its fangs dripping venom, wings folded like a demon's.
"Final boss," Jason said, swallowing hard.
Karen stared at the wyrm, then at his team. Everyone was injured, low on potions, exhausted from the ambush and the golems.
But none of them stepped back.
"Ella," Karen said quietly. "Cover your ears for a second."
He turned to the guild.
"We don't fight for points. We don't fight for rank." He paused, his voice sharp and steady. "We fight because no one else gets to decide our fate. Not the Consortium. Not the Rossettis. Not the game."
He raised Firebrand.
"We win together. Or we fall together."
Sophia smiled. "Hell yes."
Tank slammed his axe into his shield. "Let's kill it."
The battle exploded.
Tank charged straight at the wyrm, drawing its aggro. Blaze and Frost unleashed their strongest magic, setting the beast ablaze and freezing its wings. Hawk loosed enchanted arrows into its eyes. Jason sliced at its tail.
Karen ran straight up the wyrm's body, sword in hand.
It roared, breathing poison breath. Frost threw up an ice wall, taking the hit for the team, her HP dropping to critical.
"Now!" Karen shouted.
He activated every skill he had—Rage Fire, Arc Slash, Full Strike—all exploding at once. He drove Firebrand into the wyrm's chest, where its heart glowed blue.
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CRITICAL STRIKE.
The wyrm's body went rigid. It collapsed, dissolving into black smoke.
The chamber fell silent.
The Gene-Bound Relic floated toward Karen, melting into his chest.
A system notification blared for everyone:
Wings of Liberty has cleared the Forgotten Temple first!Guild Rank: #1 in Novice Village 49554Gene-Bound Power unlocked! All members gain +15 all stats!
Cheers erupted in the guild chat.
Hawk whooped. Tank laughed out loud. Blaze and Frost high-fived. Jason clapped Karen on the back.
Sophia walked up to him, her voice quiet. "You didn't just lead us. You bonded us."
For the first time, Karen smiled genuinely in the game.
"We did this."
Ella's soft, happy voice came through the earpiece. "I knew you'd win. I always knew."
As the temple began to shake, signaling their automatic exit, Karen looked at his team.
They weren't just a guild anymore.
They were family.
Outside, the sun was setting over the forest. The guild's blue eagle flag glowed brightly on the HUD, now ranked first.
Karen checked his messages. One from Dr. Cole:Ella just ate two full bowls of food. Her gene activity is stabilizing faster than ever.
He closed his eyes, logging out for the night.
In the tin hut, the second screen still glowed. Ella's face was lit up with joy.
"Tomorrow," she said. "Can we go on an adventure together?"
Karen smiled.
"Tomorrow," he promised. "We go everywhere."
That night, for the first time in years, he slept without nightmares.
Because fate was no longer a chain.
It was a choice.
And he was finally choosing to win.