She stepped into the torchlight like it was hers.
Her armor shimmered, sleek and predatory, plated black with red etchings that pulsed like veins. Strapped to her back was a jagged, curved blade, half organic, half steel. Silver irises shimmered in the shadows of her eyes. They didn't reflect the firelight—they swallowed it.
Vikka shifted beside Jonathan. "That's not a normal player."
Teshaal already had his shield-arm raised. "Name yourself."
The woman grinned, like a wolf watching lost sheep. "You can call me Ashvya. Doesn't really matter. You'll be dead or memory-wiped in five minutes either way."
> SYSTEM ALERT:
An Unaligned Player has triggered Hunt Mode within the Temple.
PvP enabled. Elimination grants Attribute Transfer and GP gain.
Warning: Vault lock remains sealed. Trial completion interrupted.
Jonathan's heart dropped.
"Unaligned?" he whispered. "What does that mean?"
"It means she didn't join our Trial group," Liari said, stepping forward. Her voice was calm, but her orbs spun faster. "She entered through a side gate. There are always hidden routes."
Ashvya tapped her gauntlet. A thin hologram shimmered over her arm.
> Player: Ashvya
GP: 104
ATTRIBUTE: Blade Swarm
STATUS: Predator-Class
Elimination Record: 11
"She's taken eleven players already," Teshaal said grimly.
"No," said Vikka, eyes narrowing. "She ate them."
Ashvya flexed her fingers.
Dozens of thin blades slid out from her back like metallic wings, hanging in the air like frozen shards. They hovered, twitching, as if eager to be released.
"Final offer," she said. "Someone hands me the Mirror of Will, and I'll let the rest of you crawl away."
Jonathan looked down at the relic strapped to his hip.
He didn't speak.
He ran.
---
The temple flared into chaos.
Ashvya's blades snapped forward like striking snakes. Teshaal threw his shield in their path, deflecting the front wave—but three of them curved low, slicing into the leg of the cyborg-eyed woman behind him. She screamed, dropping.
Liari's orbs exploded into shimmering light, casting a barrier across half the chamber. Vikka pulled Jonathan behind a pillar.
"You idiot!" she hissed. "You should've tossed the damn relic!"
"She would've killed us anyway."
"True," she admitted. "Still. Idiot."
A scream echoed to the left. The goggles-kid was down, bleeding from the shoulder, dragging himself toward cover. Ashvya moved like water and lightning combined—flickering from pillar to shadow to midair, her blades flowing in a living storm.
> SYSTEM:
Player "Renzo" eliminated.
Memory Fragment dropped.
Attribute: Nullification - Now Unbound (60 seconds)
"Grab that Fragment!" Teshaal shouted. "Don't let her reclaim it!"
Liari dove across the floor, barely dodging a sweeping arc of silver. She touched the fragment—light flared. For a moment, Ashvya faltered.
"You little thief—" she snarled.
Then her blade swarm curved around Liari like a halo of death.
Jonathan stood.
"Hey, metal-face!"
He flung a chunk of broken pillar. It bounced harmlessly off Ashvya's shoulder—but her gaze snapped to him.
"Good," she smiled. "You want to die brave. Better than screaming."
"Not exactly," Jonathan said—and stepped backward onto a glowing glyph.
> SYSTEM:
Ancient Rune Triggered.
Environmental Trap Activated: Vault Echo Pulse
All players stunned: 2.5 seconds
The blast of light was blinding.
Ashvya froze mid-strike. Her blades jittered in midair.
Teshaal moved first, slamming into her with his full weight, shield crackling. Vikka followed, slashing across her back.
Ashvya screamed—a sound more beast than woman.
Jonathan didn't hesitate.
He ran to the Vault door and slammed the Mirror of Will into the center socket.
> VAULT UNSEALING
30 seconds remaining…
"Buy time!" he shouted.
Liari dragged the injured players toward cover. Teshaal got thrown backward, helmet dented. Vikka was bleeding from her arm but still standing.
Ashvya turned toward the Vault.
"I'll carve that relic out of your corpse," she hissed.
Jonathan lifted a stone shard, trembling. "Come and try."
She did.
But the Vault opened first.
---
The sound was not of metal grinding, but of silence being torn apart.
The massive gate folded into itself, revealing a chamber glowing with emerald light. In the center, floating within a stasis ring, was a flawless, twelve-faceted gem.
It pulsed like a heartbeat.
Jonathan stepped inside. Ashvya screamed in rage, but a field of light held her back.
> FIRST EMERALD CLAIMED
Player: Jonathan Virell
SYSTEM MESSAGE:
1 of 12 Grand Emeralds secured.
Emerald Protection Active (48 Hours)
Trait Unlocked: Emerald Thread (Passive) – Mild resistance to mental corruption and memory decay.
Everyone stared.
Then, like water draining, Ashvya vanished. Her blades collapsed into dust.
The system spoke again.
> Hunt Mode ended.
Unaligned Player has exited Temple grounds.
STAGE COMPLETED: "Voice of the Forgotten"
Survivors: 6
Reward Distribution Imminent.
Jonathan's knees gave out.
Liari caught him. "You okay?"
"I got the Emerald," he said, still staring at his hands. "I… actually got it."
Teshaal approached, bruised and limping. "That puts a bounty on your head now, you realize."
Jonathan nodded slowly. "Yeah. I figured."
Vikka laughed softly. "Guess I'm sticking with you longer than I planned."
And for the first time, Jonathan smiled.
Not because he was safe.
But because, for the first time, he wasn't running anymore.
He was playing to win.