Chapter 1 : stun in soul out
The dim glow of the monitor lit up Kelvin's face in a chaotic room. Cables tangled like vines, empty energy drink cans rolling across the floor, and a headset hung loosely around his neck. His eyes locked onto the screen—there, a massive boss monster staggered under a hail of blows, its HP bar hanging by a pixel.
The in-game music swelled with tension.
On screen, tens of thousands of viewers flooded the chat:
"LAST HIT BRO!"
"JUST STUN HIM!"
"ULTI TIME!"
Kelvin grinned.
"...Okay," he muttered. "Time for bed, asshole."
With one click, his character—Odin, a cloaked knight—cast a stun. A glowing blue magic circle flared beneath the boss. The monster froze in place.
⬟ STUNNED: 1:00 ⬟
"Stun landed!" chat exploded.
"EZ CLAP! ULTI HIM!!"
Kelvin rose from his chair, raising a hand like he was summoning a divine smite.
"Open wide, you pixelated bastard... I'm sending the final move!"
Odin soared into the air. His massive sword glowed as the camera shifted to a low-angle cinematic shot. Final attack ready.
⚔️ Zzzhhwwaaarrrkkk!!! ⚔️
But then...
The boss moved.
The "STUNNED" circle shattered—48 seconds still left on the clock.
🔴 ULTIMATE INTERRUPTED 🔴
🔴 PARRY SUCCESSFUL
Kelvin's eyes bulged. "WHAT?! HE'S STILL STUNNED! WHY IS HE MOVING?!"
He jumped up, his headset thudding against his neck. His chair squealed backward.
"IS THIS BOSS THE SON OF A GM?!"
He began pacing, ranting like a man possessed:
"I WAS FLOATING! I SAID MY COOL LINE! AND HE JUST—PARRIES?!"
"THIS ISN'T A BOSS—THIS IS A FINAL-YEAR STUDENT WHO'S DONE WITH LIFE!"
He pointed accusingly at the screen.
"The stun said one minute. Forty-eight seconds left. And he just breaks it?! WHAT IS THIS?! VPN FROM HELL?!"
The chat lost it.
"😭 VPN from hell 😂"
"THE BOSS HAS A DEGREE IN GAME DESIGN"
Kelvin slumped over his desk, taking a shaky breath.
"Maybe... maybe the boss hired a pro player. That wasn't AI."
"He knows frame data... blocking windows... shadow-step techniques—WHO IS THIS GUY?! DOES HE KNOW HE'S AN NPC?!"
Kelvin stared at the camera, a mix of despair and existential dread.
"I stunned him. I ultied him. Then out of nowhere... a volcano erupts?"
Right then—
The volcano in the background erupted.
🌋 VOLCANIC ERUPTION – NATURAL EVENT TRIGGERED
🔥 Lava rain in 5... 4... 3...
"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS NOW?!" Kelvin screamed.
"THE MOUNTAIN'S ON HIS SIDE TOO?!"
As lava and chaos engulfed the screen, both his character and the boss were swallowed whole.
💀 YOU DIED 💀
Kelvin sat down slowly, stunned.
"...Volcano... really?"
"My name's Kelvin. I'm a streamer. And a professional chess player. Three-time tournament champ. Never graduated school."
"I hate this game."
"Relic War: Ashes of Aetherra. A soulslike game with potato graphics, but wildly popular because the NPCs are... 'too lifelike.'"
"Too lifelike, yeah."
"But one thing keeps me playing."
"Someone—no idea who—donates an absurd amount every month just to keep me on this hell ride."
"Maybe I hate the game... but I like the money."
The lava glow flickered in Kelvin's eyes as he sighed deeply. His face was drained, his hair sticking up like he'd been electrocuted, and his headset sat crookedly.
"I stunned him," he whispered. "I ultied. It failed. That's fine. But then... A VOLCANO?"
He raised his hand skyward, as if praying to the pixel gods.
"Lava dropped like a hellish flash sale. No warning. No cutscene. Just... 'BOOM, YOU DIED.' That's it."
Kelvin wiped his face, turning back to the camera.
"This game isn't Soulslike anymore... it's Stresslike."
Chat exploded.
"😭😭😭 MOUNTAIN BETRAYAL"
"WHAT KIND OF SCRIPT IS THIS 😂"
"VOLCANO PATCH OP!"
💸 [Donation: $13.50]
"Bro, you hurt the volcano's feelings. Say sorry, quick 😭"
Kelvin gently patted his desk like it was a sentient being.
"Please... tell the devs... I'm sorry, Mr. Volcano. Just give me one more chance... before my desk explodes too."
[CUTSCENE – POST-BOSS EVENT]
The screen faded into a cinematic. The defeated boss dissolved into ash, the dark fog vanishing. Aetherra's sky slowly turned from crimson to a pale blue.
In a ruined throne room, NPCs gathered around an ancient sealed box.
"The Pandora Box..." whispered an elf.
"It's said to grant your deepest wish... if opened with the six elemental keys from across the world."
Kelvin raised an eyebrow.
"Deepest wish? Probably just unlocks a limited-time skin."
Suddenly, a young knight NPC knelt before the box, armor battered.
"The Emperor has gathered five of the keys... But legend says the final one can be replaced... by the soul of a brave knight."
"Allow me... to sacrifice myself... for a new hope."
Kelvin mashed the emote button. Odin slammed the ground in a furious animation.
"YO! STOP! IDIOT! NO!!" Kelvin yelled. "I just soloed the boss with a half-broken cloak—and you wanna sacrifice yourself in front of a shady box?!"
The elf NPC blinked. "L-Lord Odin...?"
Kelvin turned to the camera, face full of suspicion.
"See? This is the issue when NPCs act too real. They get dramatic. That box? That's a trap. Straight outta Dark Souls."
He stood up and stepped closer to the monitor.
"I'm richer than that box. What's it gonna give me, a legendary skin? Bro, my inventory's FULL, you clown!"
Scene Finale: "The Keys of Ruin"
The black fog had lifted. In the shattered throne room, the only sounds were NPC footsteps and crumbling stone.
At the center stood the Pandora Box, glowing with violet pulses. Six elemental keys hovered around it, each one shimmering with the essence of a continent.
A young elf looked at Odin, torn between awe and hesitation.
"Lord Odin... With this, we could change everything. We could wish—"
"No," Odin cut in.
Kelvin's voice, now through Odin, was weary but resolute.
"Take the box. Take the keys. Get them out of here—and destroy everything."
"B-But... the world sacrificed lives for these keys…"
"And how many more will die... if that thing stays?"
A white-robed mage lowered his head in solemn agreement.
"If that is your command, Commander…"
Odin stood still, then glanced up at the broken sky.
"...This world's clung to false hope for too long. It's time Aetherra learns to walk... without magical crutches."
The NPCs moved. They sealed the box in radiant light, one by one erasing the keys with destruction spells. Each blast lit up the sky like farewell flames.
When the final key vanished—the wind stopped.
A faint light touched the broken throne.
Narrator (V.O.):
"And on that day, the Relic that divided nations... was no more."
"The Pandora Box was never opened. The keys were never passed down."
"Odin's decision wasn't a victory... but a beginning."
[END CREDIT SEQUENCE – Montage of Aetherra]
🎶 [Soft, hopeful music playing]
📸 Clip 1: Frozen mountains thaw, revealing green meadows beneath.
📸 Clip 2: A once-fallen floating city rebuilding its skybridges. NPC children run across them laughing.
📸 Clip 3: A cursed forest now blooming with glowing blue buds.
📸 Clip 4: The Aether River, once dry, flows again with mana particles like drifting stars.
Narrator (soft tone):
"After the keys were destroyed, the world's magic flow returned to its natural path."
"A dying planet slowly began to heal."
"No more control. No more relics. No more human interference."
"Aetherra... could finally breathe again."
📸 Final shot: A field of violet flowers, with Odin standing in the center, cloak fluttering as he faces the sunrise.