Chapter 7: The Forgotten Gate
The path to the mountains began as a dirt trail, half-choked by vines and crumbling stones. Every few meters, an old signpost stuck from the ground at an angle—weathered, cracked, and unreadable. Zayn Arif adjusted the strap of his rifle and kept his eyes forward. The morning fog clung to the trees, thin tendrils reaching across the ground like ghostly fingers.
Max walked ahead, silent as usual, his hand resting casually on his sidearm.
Zayn couldn't stop thinking about the last message from the echo.
"Don't trust the lobby."
What had happened there? Why was it hidden? And why was Max so sure the artifact was buried in a place players weren't meant to return to?
[Objective: Reach Server Switch - Location: Eastern Mountain Base]
[Estimated Distance: 2.4 km]
[Hostile Presence: Moderate to High]
[Progression: 6%]
They climbed a steep ridge where the air turned thinner and the trees grew sparse. From here, the game world stretched out below them—fields and ruins, blinking icons marking old drop zones. It looked peaceful from above.
But Zayn knew better.
"This way," Max said, leading him toward a rocky outcrop.
Behind the rocks was an opening—half-hidden by a collapsed wall and twisted metal scaffolding. It looked like the remains of a control bunker, overgrown and silent.
Zayn brushed away loose branches from the entrance. "This doesn't look like any map area I've seen."
"It predates the current map," Max said. "Back when this world was still being built. A test zone, never meant for players to reach."
He stepped inside.
Zayn followed.
Inside, the air was still and cold. The walls bore faded warning signs, written in a mix of system language and corrupted text. A flickering panel pulsed red near the far wall.
[Access Point Detected: Server Switch Gate]
[Authentication Required: Legacy Code Input]
[Artifact Interaction Needed]
Zayn frowned. "Legacy code?"
Max nodded. "That's where the artifact comes in. We need a key fragment to unlock it. There should be one nearby—left by a player who tried and failed to activate it."
They moved deeper into the structure, their footsteps echoing down the metal hallways. At one point, Zayn thought he heard a voice. A whisper, just beyond the range of comprehension.
He turned sharply.
Nothing.
[Environmental Echo Detected – System Memory Bleed Active]
"I hate when it does that," Zayn muttered.
Max didn't react. He was kneeling near a metal crate.
"This belonged to her," Max said, pulling it open.
Inside was a faded red jacket.
Zayn recognized it.
"Rei\_205," he whispered.
Beneath the jacket, tucked into a velvet-lined compartment, lay a small chip. It pulsed with faint blue light.
[Artifact Fragment Recovered – 'Lobby\_Key\_Alpha']
[Compatibility: 87%]
[Inject into Server Switch to Activate]
Zayn took the fragment in his hand. It was warm.
Almost alive.
He approached the access panel and placed it into the slot.
There was a sharp beep.
Then the entire room began to shake.
[System Boot Sequence Initiated]
[Backdoor Protocol: Lobby\_0X1-ROOT]
[Warning: This action will sever temporary system protection]
[Are you sure?]
Zayn hesitated.
Max placed a hand on his shoulder. "Once we go in, there's no safety net. No Graveyard. No guaranteed respawn."
Zayn stared at the flickering words.
But if the answers were anywhere… they were in the lobby.
He pressed confirm.
The ground rumbled.
Metal shutters slid open, revealing a circular platform. Holographic wires danced in the air above it, forming a distorted version of the Free Fire logo. It glitched every few seconds, replaced by numbers and code fragments.
[Teleporting: Please Remain Still]
[Destination: Lobby Root – Archive State]
[Player Status: Undefined]
The world began to fold inward. Zayn felt pressure build behind his eyes. His body started to lose form—atoms separating and spinning.
Then—
Everything turned white.
—
When the light faded, he was standing in a vast, empty plaza.
Familiar. But wrong.
This was the lobby.
Or rather, an older version of it.
The buildings were hollow shells. The fountains didn't run. The player mannequins stood frozen in T-poses. Above him, the sky was too still—flat like a painted ceiling.
[You Have Entered: Lobby\_0X1-ROOT]
[Status: Instanced – No Other Players Present]
[Searching for Anchored Code Fragments…]
Max appeared beside him, blinking slowly.
"So this is what's left."
Zayn looked around. "It's dead."
"No," Max said. "It's dreaming."
They walked across the plaza, past static-filled billboards and broken vending stations. Every few steps, Zayn's interface flickered.
His footsteps echoed too loudly.
[Code Fragment Detected – Origin Date: Unknown]
[Would You Like to Access?]
Zayn selected yes.
A piece of the plaza shimmered, revealing a flash of memory.
Two players stood facing each other. One was laughing. The other looked nervous.
"You ready for your first drop?" the laughing one said.
"I guess," the other replied. "You think we'll win?"
"No one wins. We just drop and survive."
Then they vanished.
The world returned to silence.
"These are memories," Zayn said. "Real ones. From real people."
Max nodded. "Fragments of old players. The system holds onto them, like souvenirs."
Zayn stopped in front of a giant console at the far end of the lobby. It pulsed with soft light, half-buried under vines.
The screen lit up as he touched it.
[System Query: Zayn Arif]
[Anomaly Classification: Delta Thread]
[Respawn System Status: Evolving]
[Would You Like to Review Origin Logs?]
Zayn's pulse quickened.
He selected yes.
Lines of code and fragmented images began to load. A hospital room. A monitor beeping. A young man—himself—lying unconscious.
Then static.
More lines.
[Subject experienced neural sync failure during beta interface test.]
[Error: Subject consciousness displaced into active simulation environment.]
[Flagged for observation.]
Zayn's knees nearly gave out.
"I wasn't sent here by accident."
"No," Max said quietly. "You're not a player."
Zayn stared at the screen.
"I'm part of an experiment."
And worst of all—
He couldn't remember agreeing to it.
[Origin Unlocked: 9% Progression Achieved]
—
Outside, the lobby sky began to flicker.
Something had noticed them.
A ripple moved through the false sky.
[Presence Detected: Enforcement-Class Unit – Designation "Watcher"]
[Defensive Protocols Enabled]
Zayn looked up as a shadow fell over the plaza.
A massive form descended—white, silent, unblinking.
Max drew his weapon.
Zayn didn't move.
He stared at the approaching entity.
Because in its face—beyond the metallic shell and glowing eyes—
He saw a reflection.
Of himself.