CHAPTER 155: A KING’S BOREDOM

One evening, he was sitting in his throne room, which was really just the old judge’s chambers with a bigger chair, when Vexia entered with a stack of scrolls.

"A report from our scouts, Your Majesty," she said, the ’Your Majesty’ still sounding weird and sarcastic, even from her.

"Let me guess," Nox said, not even looking up from the piece of jerky he was chewing. "The sewer’s backed up again."

"No," Vexia said, her voice grim. "It is something far more... interesting." She laid a scroll on the table in front of him. It was a map of the world, much larger and more detailed than the regional one they had seen before.

"The Scripture has been... active," she explained. "New dungeons have been appearing all over the world. Not just the simple, goblin-infested caves we saw in the tutorial phase. These are different. Larger. More complex."

She pointed to a spot on the map, a large, desert region far to the south. "This appeared three days ago. We are calling it the ’Tomb of the Sand King’. A party of a hundred high-level players went in. None have come out."

She pointed to another location, a chain of volcanic islands off the coast. "The ’Forge of the Fire Lord’. A Dwarven expedition attempted to reclaim it. They were annihilated."

She pointed to a third, a massive, swirling vortex in the middle of the ocean. "The ’Sunken City’. No one has even been brave enough to attempt that one."

Nox just looked at the map, at the new, deadly locations that had been written into the fabric of his world. He felt a familiar, thrilling buzz in his chest.

"So the game is just getting bigger," he said, a slow grin spreading across his face.

"It is not a game, Nox," Serian said, entering the room. "People are dying."

"People are always dying," he countered. "At least now they’re dying for a chance at some good loot." He looked at Vexia. "What’s the point? Why are you telling me this?"

"Because one of them appeared on our doorstep," Vexia said. She pointed to a location in the mountains just north of their territory, not far from the Sanctuary. "A new dungeon. And its energy signature is... unique. It is not aligned with any known element or magical school. It is something else."

She looked him right in the eye. "It is a dungeon of the void."

Nox’s grin vanished. ’A void dungeon? What the hell is that?’

[Analysis: A localized reality-distortion where the foundational laws are based on void-aspected energy,] Liona’s voice reported. [Hostile entities within will likely possess abilities similar to your own. An environment highly compatible with your core.]

’So it’s a home game.’

"And there’s more," Vexia said, her voice dropping. "The Scripture has issued a World Quest, visible to all players above a certain level."

A new screen appeared in his vision, a copy of the quest Vexia was describing.

[WORLD QUEST: THE SHADOW’S HEART]

[OBJECTIVE: The first Void Dungeon has manifested. Its corrupting influence threatens to spread, to consume. The world requires a champion to purge this new darkness. Be the first to clear the dungeon and claim its heart.]

[REWARD: A fragment of the Void God’s power. The title ’Void-Sworn’. And the right to be the first to walk the path of the shadows.]

"A fragment of the Void God’s power," Nox whispered, his eyes wide. He knew what that meant. His own core was a fragment of a dead god. This was a chance to get another piece, to become even stronger.

"Every powerful player in the world is going to be heading for those mountains," Serian said, her face pale. "It will be a bloodbath."

"Yes," Vexia agreed. "Which is why we must get there first."

Nox just stood up, his boredom completely gone, replaced by a cold, burning fire. "Gather the army," he said, his voice a low, dangerous command. "We’re going on a little trip."

Elisa burst into the room, her warhammer held ready, a wide, bloodthirsty grin on her face. "Finally! I was getting so bored of playing defense! When do we leave?"

"Now," Nox said.

The age of kings had begun. And the first great war for the soul of the new world was about to start.

---

The army marched.

It was not the disciplined, shining host of a Sun Elf kingdom, nor the wild, howling horde of a barbarian clan. It was a strange, mismatched collection of survivors, a testament to the chaotic new world. At its core were the twenty elite Sun Elf warriors of the Sanctuary, their silver armor gleaming, led by the stoic and terrifyingly efficient Vexia. Flanking them were Elisa’s newly-trained human players, their mismatched armor scavenged from the battle of Portentia, but their eyes held a new, hard-won discipline. And scouting ahead, silent ghosts in the trees, were Mela’s Ashen Elf hunters, their loyalty now absolute.

And at their head, walking alone, was Nox. He was not wearing his full, demonic-looking armor. He wore a simple, black-plated chest piece and gauntlets forged from the void, a practical, stripped-down version of his full power. His black Royal Flag was strapped to his back, and the scepter, Regulus, was held loosely in one hand. He looked less like a king and more like a wandering warrior. But there was a power in his quiet, purposeful stride that made everyone, friend and foe alike, give him a wide berth.

Serian walked beside him, her presence a calm, golden counterpoint to his dark, silent intensity. She had become the heart of his army, the one who the soldiers looked to for inspiration, while they looked to Nox for orders.

They marched for two days, a silent, efficient force moving through the rolling foothills. They encountered other groups of players, smaller war parties drawn by the siren song of the World Quest. Most took one look at the size and discipline of Nox’s army and simply melted back into the wilderness.

A few were foolish enough to challenge them.

They were not met with a battle. They were met with an execution. Mela’s scouts would identify them, Vexia’s mages would trap them in runic cages, Elisa’s bruisers would smash them, and Nox would end it with a single, decisive blow, his Void Eater skill consuming their skills and Flags before their bodies even hit the ground.

His Flag count grew. His power grew. And his reputation, the legend of the Void Monarch, began to spread through the land like a plague.

On the third day, they reached the base of the mountains. The air was thin and cold, and the peaks were shrouded in a dark, unnatural mist that seemed to writhe and pulse with a life of its own. This was the domain of the void.

"The corruption is strong here," Vexia said, her hand resting on a glowing runestone. "It is interfering with my scrying. I cannot see what lies within the mist."

"I can," Nox said. His Void Gaze, enhanced by his own affinity, could see right through the veil. He could see the twisted, corrupted beasts that roamed the slopes. He could see the other parties of players, cautiously making their way up the treacherous paths. And he could feel it, a deep, resonant hum of power at the very peak of the highest mountain. The heart of the dungeon.

"The entrance is at the summit," he stated. "But the path is guarded. And we’re not the only ones here." He looked at the other groups moving through the mist. "This isn’t a race to the top. It’s a king-of-the-hill match. Only the strongest will even reach the door."

He turned to his council. "Here’s the plan. Elisa, you take the main force. You’re the hammer. You’re going to march straight up the main path and you’re going to break anyone and anything that gets in your way. I don’t care how you do it, just make a lot of noise and draw all the attention."

Elisa’s grin was a feral slash of teeth. "My pleasure."

"Mela, your hunters are the scalpels. You move through the shadows. You pick off the stragglers, the leaders, anyone who thinks they’re safe. I want chaos and confusion in the enemy ranks."

Mela nodded, her eyes cold and sharp. "They will not see us coming."

"Vexia," he said, turning to the master strategist. "You are the shield. You stay with the main force. You protect them. I don’t want to lose a single soldier to a stupid trap or a lucky spell."

Vexia gave a stiff nod. "My wards will hold."

"And you, Nox?" Serian asked, her voice quiet. "What will you be doing?"

He looked up at the mist-shrouded peak, a slow, dangerous grin spreading across his face. "Me?" he said. "I’m going straight for the king."

He turned and started walking away from the army, not up the main path, but toward the sheer, unclimbable cliff face of the mountain.

"You cannot be serious," Mela said, her voice a mix of awe and exasperation. "You intend to climb that?"

"Climbing is for suckers," Nox said.

He held out his hand, and his scepter, Regulus, appeared in a flash of purple light. He pointed it at the cliff face.

’Liona,’ he commanded. ’Forge me a path.’

The void answered his call. It was not a weapon or a shield. It was a staircase. A set of crude, black stone steps grew directly from the side of the mountain, winding its way up the sheer cliff face, a dark, impossible path into the heart of the mist.

He stepped onto the first step without looking back. "Try to keep up," he said to Serian, who was just staring, her mouth slightly open.

She shook her head, a small, exasperated smile on her face, and followed him onto the impossible stairs. The two of them began their ascent, a lone king and his queen, walking a path of their own making, while below them, the war for the mountain began.

---

The battle on the slopes was a brutal, chaotic affair. Elisa’s army was a sledgehammer, smashing through the smaller, disorganized parties of players with a relentless, overwhelming force. The other Candidates, who had expected a cautious, strategic climb, were completely unprepared for the sheer, head-on aggression of the Void Monarch’s forces.

But the mountain fought back. Corrupted beasts, twisted and empowered by the void dungeon, swarmed them. Massive, shadowy wolves with teeth of obsidian. Hulking, bear-like creatures made of living rock and shadow. The battle became a three-way meat grinder.

High above the chaos, Nox and Serian climbed. The void-forged staircase was a steep and treacherous path, but it was direct. They bypassed the main battle completely, moving through the thick, unnatural mist like ghosts.

"Your power grows with every passing day," Serian said, her voice quiet in the oppressive silence of the mountain. "This staircase... it is an act of creation on a scale I have never witnessed."

"It’s just moving rocks around," Nox said, not looking at her. "It’s a means to an end."

They finally reached the summit. It was a wide, flat plateau of black, glassy rock, swept clean by an icy wind. In the center of the plateau was the entrance to the dungeon. It was not a cave or a door. It was a tear in reality itself, a swirling, silent vortex of pure darkness that seemed to pull the very light from the air.

And waiting for them, standing before the vortex, was a single figure.

It was a woman, or at least it had the shape of one. She was clad in sleek, form-fitting armor of a deep, iridescent purple, like an oil slick on water. Her face was hidden behind a smooth, featureless helmet, and in her hand, she held a long, thin blade that seemed to be forged from a shard of the night sky.

’Liona, analysis.’

[Designation: Unknown. Level: ???. Threat: Extreme. Note: Subject is a high-tier player from the primary server. She is not a Candidate in this scenario. She is an Invader.]

’An Invader? From the ’primary server’ Vexia was talking about? So the tutorial is really over.’

The woman in purple armor turned as they approached. She did not speak, but her voice echoed directly in Nox’s mind, cold and sharp.

’You are the anomaly,’ the voice stated. ’The one they call the Void Monarch. You are stronger than the reports suggested.’

’And you’re the welcoming committee?’ Nox shot back.

’I am the gatekeeper,’ the woman replied. ’This dungeon, this ’Shadow’s Heart’, is not a prize for the children of this new, broken world. It is a trial, a test to see if any of you are even worthy of playing the real game.’ She raised her blade. ’And my task is to eliminate the unworthy.’

"Nox, be careful," Serian whispered, her own hand on her sword. "I cannot feel her power. It is like she is not even there."

"That’s because she’s not from around here," Nox said. He summoned his own Infernal Monarch armor, the black and red plates covering him in an instant. "She’s from the next level."

The gatekeeper did not wait. She moved.

It was not a flicker or a charge. It was a cut. Reality itself seemed to bend as she slashed her blade, and a thin, crescent-shaped wave of pure, spatial distortion shot toward them. It did not make a sound, but the air it passed through screamed.

Nox didn’t have time to think. He just reacted. He brought his scepter, Regulus, up in a desperate block.

The spatial wave hit the scepter. And the world broke.

The impact was not an explosion; it was an implosion. A sphere of fractured reality erupted from the point of impact, a chaotic storm of splintered light and broken physics. Nox was thrown backward, the scepter nearly ripped from his grasp, his armor cracking under the sheer, unmaking force. Serian was thrown clear, landing in a heap at the edge of the plateau.

The gatekeeper stood in the center of the storm, completely unmoved, her blade held ready.

’She’s not a player,’ Nox thought, his mind reeling as he pushed himself to his feet. ’She’s a goddamn raid boss.’

The gatekeeper looked at him, then at the tear in reality that was the dungeon entrance. ’You are resilient,’ her voice echoed in his mind. ’But you are not yet worthy. This path is closed to you.’

She turned and walked into the swirling vortex of darkness, vanishing without a trace.

Nox just stood there, his body aching, his mind trying to process the impossible power he had just faced. He had come here to conquer a dungeon, to claim a piece of a god’s power.

But he had found something else entirely. He had found the next level of the game. And he had been utterly, completely, and educationaly denied entry.

The path was closed. But Nox, the boy who had been told "no" his entire life, just looked at the swirling vortex, a slow, dangerous grin spreading across his face.

"We’ll see about that," he said to the empty plateau.

He had a door to kick down. And he was very, very good at breaking things.