Perspective: Alessio Leone
The metallic sound of the system still echoed in his mind, even after the glowing letters had vanished from the air.Regional Event: The Awakening of the Green Moon.
Those words alone were enough to awaken a memory Alessio would never forget — one of the bloodiest and most disastrous chapters in the history of the Black Tower.
This event… wasn't supposed to happen yet.
According to the Tower's natural timeline, it should only have been triggered nearly two years after the beginning of the game.And yet, there it was — premature, distorted, activated by his own interference.It was strange to think that a single action of his — killing the Lich's army and breaking the seal ahead of schedule — had disrupted the very balance of the world.The simple act of surviving had accelerated the fate of an entire kingdom.
He remembered all too well what came next.In that other life, the event's announcement had fallen upon Thalgrande like a storm of fire.Every major guild in the realm reacted the same way — they ran.
At that time, Thalgrande had been the most stable of all the human kingdoms — prosperous cities, solid government, well-trained armies.And when the system announced the opportunity to fight alongside the king himself against the infamous Lich of the Green Moon, the entire continent went mad.Players of all levels traveled for weeks to enlist — driven by ambition, glory, and the promise of legendary rewards.
But what followed… was a tragedy of epic scale.
He could still recall the images, the reports, the screams.The guilds had arrived confident, marching in perfect formations — banners fluttering, shields gleaming, tactical ranks drawn straight from the manuals.But the battlefield awaiting them was no dungeon.It wasn't the lair of a single boss.It was total war.
And no one — absolutely no one — was ready for it.
Back then, players were used to hunting monsters in forests or clearing small dungeons.Their lives revolved around progress, farming, predictable cycles.They knew how to deal with wild creatures, but not with an enemy intelligent enough to wage a military campaign.
The Lich of the Green Moon was not just a boss — he was a general of death.And the army he commanded had no end.Every fallen soldier rose again within minutes, joining the ranks of the dead under his banner.The slain of Thalgrande became their own executioners.
Alessio could recall every detail of that catastrophe.The valley where the guild forces met the Lich's army was consumed within hours.Screams merged with the thunder of necromantic catapults; the shining columns of adventurers broke apart like waves against a cliff.And when night finally fell — there was only silence.Silence and green fire burning over mountains of corpses.
Few survived.Not a single major guild came out intact.The event that should have been a celebration of unity became a massacre that reshaped the kingdom's entire economy and power structure for years to come.
And now, it was happening again.
But not the same way.
Alessio inhaled slowly, tightening the shield on his arm.The metal was still warm from the previous battle.He looked up at the high ceiling of the chamber, where the last traces of green mana were fading away, and allowed memory to turn into calculation.
"It won't happen again," he muttered to himself.
But not because players would be smarter this time.Not because they'd learned from the past.The difference was something else entirely.
This time… they would be insufficient.
The Lich's power had been awakened prematurely.His seal was incomplete, and the Tower's balance hadn't yet adjusted to his level.The guilds simply wouldn't have the strength to face him.Not the armies of adventurers, not the high-tier mages, not even the legendary hunters of the region.
The coming battle would be something different.Not a skirmish between players — but a war between entities.
The Kingdom of Thalgrande, with its NPC generals, its elite mages, and its undying knights, would form the front line.The Lich of the Green Moon, with his endless horde, would be the storm.And in the middle of it all, the players would be nothing more than cannon fodder.
Alessio could already picture it in his mind —the gates of the royal city opening, the adventurers descending the great stairways, the horns blaring, and the arrogance of those who still believed that understanding the system meant understanding the world.
They didn't know.They had no idea what it meant to stand on the Tower's true battlefield.They didn't know that every fallen soul was absorbed, recycled, multiplied.They didn't know the enemy grew stronger with every victory.
And yet… they would go.Reckless, brave, or simply greedy — thousands would rush to enlist.
Because the rewards of a regional event were far too great to resist.Unique items, titles, rare skills, merit points exchangeable for artifacts.The promise of power — the Tower's greatest lure.
Alessio knew that better than anyone.And perhaps that was why, as he thought of what was coming, he felt no thrill — only a cold, familiar sense of dread.
The air of Thalgrande was already changing.The wind carried the scent of iron and ash.And the distant roar of the system's horns sounded less like a call to arms — and more like an omen.
War was coming.And this time, there would be no heroes.Only survivors.
He adjusted the axe on his back.The mist still pulsed nearby, swirling in hues of green and black — like the beating of a shadow's heart.
"The Kingdom of Thalgrande will drown in blood…" he murmured.
And for the first time, those words didn't sound like metaphor.They sounded like prophecy.
It was then that Sith finally approached him.Her footsteps echoed softly among the debris — a slow, rhythmic sound cutting through the heavy silence that had settled over the hall.Her green eyes — calmer now, yet still wild — met his with the kind of intensity that could pierce through any armor or shield.She stopped a few paces away, black hair falling disheveled over her shoulders, streaked with dried blood across her skin — a reminder that even human, she was still a predator.Her voice broke the silence, low, almost a whisper, but carrying a quiet, restrained strength.
"So… is it over?"
Alessio lifted his gaze for a moment, meeting the indecipherable gleam in her eyes, and felt the weight of the question —not as doubt, but as something they both knew had no answer.