The massive body collapsed. Logan pulled his axe free, leaning on it, a warrior utterly spent. The blue screen materialized, its clean text an absurd contrast to the carnage.

  Congratulations on slaying an elite behemoth monster! EXP: 300. Congratulations on leveling up! Accept rewards?

  Yes. The thought was a raw gasp. The familiar, clean fire of the level up washed through me, a welcome tide that pushed back the crushing exhaustion. Five more points. I pushed three into Agility and two into Mana. The numbers shifted, and a deeper, cellular thrum settled into my bones.

  Just as the last of the lesser lizards fell, the roar of battle was replaced by the low groans of the injured. The river of monsters pouring from the crack in the wall had faltered, then stopped. A profound, ringing silence fell over the cavern.

  A blue screen materialized before me.

  Void Crack of another world detected. Seal? Yes/No

  I looked at the exhausted, blood spattered faces around me. There was no choice. An open wound into a dimension of monsters could not be left to fester. “Seal it,” I said, my voice firm. I focused on the ‘Yes’ and thought the command. The obsidian around the crack seemed to liquefy, the polished black stone flowing like thick tar and knitting itself shut. The malevolent red light vanished.

  Then the whole world vanished. An infinite blackness stole everything, sight, smell, touch. I was floating in a void of emptiness, completely aware but feeling nothing.

  I tried to shout but no sound erupted from my mouth. I tried to walk but the command never reached my legs.

  A blinding light started speeding towards me like a star. It grew brighter, stronger, a wave of heat hitting me like an explosion forcing me to close my eyes.

  When the heat subsided I finally opened my eyes and I was floating among the stars, a giant green and blue planet floating before me. I recognized it from images taken aboard the international space station.

  Earth

  A voice spoke from the void, ringing through my head with such force it threatened to crush my very being. To shatter my soul amongst the stars or scatter my atoms into nothing.

  “It is time! The planet has finally reached maturity and it’s power is mine.”

  Another voice rang out, clashing with the same level of force.

  “We had claim long before you. It should be ours”

  A chorus of shouts began to ring out from various places, crashing together in a symphony of noise that threatened to break reality itself.

  Suddenly Earth began to glow and the clashing voices seemed to fade as the glow enveloped me.

  “ENOUGH” A female voice rang out with such force and authority that I could see the sound waves as they reverberated from the planet. “This is MY planet. You will not touch it.”

  The voice from the beginning spoke again. “We have all voted. Your planet is next for the battle ground. Once I win I will add your planet to my power”

  “I won’t let you” the female voice chimed.

  The voice laughed and it felt like my head would split from the noise.

  “You have this one planet in your domain. The invasion has already begun. You.Can.Not.Stop.It.” Each word bitten off with such intensity that I felt my soul begin to break apart.

  A female figure began to form within the glow but as she began to coalesce a burning sensation behind my eyes began to send piercing pain into my brain, forcing my eyes shut.

  “I may not be able to stop you. But I can slow you down.”

  Even with my eyes closed the glow got stronger and stronger until it burned my eyes even through my eyelids.

  “NOOOOOOO. WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?” The voice screamed.

  “You fool! You are burning your own essence for these primitive life forms” Another voice boomed.

  “These are my people. They deserve a chance. Your influence on my planet will be restricted. If you must war on my planet, then it will be on my terms” the female voice finished and suddenly the light went out and the infinite darkness returned.

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  I opened my eyes and I could still see the phantom glow of the female form in the dark.

  Except the form began growing until it was as tall as I was.

  “Humans. You just witnessed what is happening to your world. Forces are invading your world to fight for its control. Once the planet is under their control they can use it to enhance their own power. I have restricted them to specific parameters for their invasion. I have also granted you humans with access to the enhancement system. Please. Get stronger. Fight back. Protect your home. As earth acclimates with Mana their invasion will become less restricted. You need to get stronger before that happens. That is all I can do for you. I am sorry little ones”

  The form turned and began to walk away but stopped.

  Suddenly she was in front of me, the bright light making my eyes water as I forced them to look into her eyes.

  Who is this woman and why does she feel so familiar.

  Her eyes were a deep dark black, like that of space. The space seemed to go on and on. Stars twinkled and I felt the myself get sucked into the endless space.

  “Interesting.” I felt the being say. The sound surrounding me as if she was speaking from everywhere.

  “Careful, little one. Stare at a god’s power to long and you will go blind.”

  Suddenly I was back to staring at the glowing female form but she was further away now. I still felt the pull of her eyes but I could resist it now.

  “ Such tragedy, such protectiveness, such a strong sense of duty in someone so young. What is your name protector?”

  I tried to say Elias but when I opened my mouth to speak, no sound came out.

  “Elias” the being said it softly, like she was trying out the sound for the first time.

  I felt my body shiver involuntarily.

  Did she read my mind.

  “A mind of a primitive being like yourself is easier to read than opening a book” the woman chuckled, a sound like a lullaby, I felt heat rise to my cheeks.

  “Oh, little one don’t be ashamed. I mean no harm. It took me centuries to learn how to shield my mind.” I felt like the being was smiling even though I couldn’t see her face.

  “The system has been activated for such a short time and yet you have grown accustomed to the system so quickly” she mused.

  “So many First titles. So many other world beings killed.”

  “I will be keeping my eye on you, little Elias. Do not disappoint” she faded from existence, leaving me alone in the void.

  Suddenly I was on my knees staring at the stone floor. My head pulsed as I tried to process what I just witnessed.

  I looked around and saw everyone else was in a similar position.

  Something felt lodged deep within me. Something that did not belong to me.

  A blue screen appeared before me:

  New Status Effect: Sliver of Divinity.

  A seed of foreign power has rooted inside you. Its nature cannot be analyzed. Growth in your power will reveal the seeds attributes.

  Growth is inevitable.

  Growth is inevitable. I did not like the sound of that.

  That was what I felt, deep in my chest, in my soul. A seed, the sliver of divinity.

  Is this what she meant when she said she’d keep an eye on me?

  I wasn’t sure if it was my imagination, but I could swear the seed pulsed in my chest — as if answering my thoughts.

  “What was that?” Charlie coughed.

  The implications swirled in my head as I suppressed the urge to vomit.

  I placed an unsteady foot underneath me, testing it’s strength before pushing myself to my full height. I saw others doing the same.

  Someone was on their knees hands held together in front of them, head bowed in prayer.

  Another kept looking at the cavern exit as if they were going to bolt any minute.

  As I looked around Chief and Kira were already approaching me before I had the chance to search them out.

  “Did you guys see the earth and that…. Woman?” Kira asked, hesitating on the final word.

  “She was…. Powerful and familiar” Chief added.

  “And those other people. It felt like my very existence was going to be erased just from them talking” the memory still made my head pound with phantom force.

  Logan, Ryker, Charlie and the rest of our group gathered around.

  “What do you think it means?” Logan said with an uncharacteristically serious face.

  “I think it was showing what these gates are” Ryker stated, his voice carrying a mystified tone.

  Then, a new screen appeared.

  Conditions met. Door to the boss room has been unsealed.

  Every head, every eye, every thought snapped in the same direction. Back down the long, dark hallway. Back through the boneyards and the jungle. Back to the entrance cavern, where a single, monolithic door glowed with a menacing, pulsating red light. The final trial was not over. It had just begun, the thoughts of what we just witnessed will have to be put on the back burner.

  “We need to focus on the current problem. We can discuss what we saw after we cleared this place.” Chief stated trying to refocus the group.

  “Do you think they were gods?” Charlie asked nervously.

  “I don’t know” I answered honestly. “But I think Chief is right. Lets discuss this after we are free of this hell hole. Maybe we will get more answers if we defeat the boss?”

  “Okay” Ryker said reluctantly. “I have more questions than answers from whatever that was.”

  All the heads around us nodded as we began to make our way back to the main cavern.

  The journey back was a ghost walk through empty arenas. When we finally emerged into the main entrance cavern, the Chief ordered a one hour rest. Players slumped to the ground, a quiet, purposeful murmur replacing the din of war.

  I could hear everyone whispering about the same mysterious woman and the strange dream.

  Charlie found me as I leaned against a wall, watching Kira and Ivan move among the wounded. His face was a pale mask of exhaustion, but his eyes held a fire I had not seen before.

  “Elias,” he said, his voice quiet but firm. "I need to be on that final assault team." I started to argue, but he cut me off. “It’s because of them,” he said, his hand instinctively going to his stomach. “My girlfriend… our baby. I was so scared. I thought my only job was to stay alive, to get back to them. But I was wrong. My job is to make sure there is a world for them to be safe in. After that vision, this is bigger than any of us could have imagined. I have to fight.”

  The raw, desperate love in his voice was a punch to the gut. I put a hand on his shoulder, my own voice thick with overwhelming emotion. “Then we make damn sure we get you home to them,” I said. “I have got your back in there, Charlie. I promise.”

  The hour passed in a heartbeat. We gathered before the door. Forty odd players, the last of the last, a thin, bloody line forged in a day of impossible violence.