He tightened his grip on the blade.
I've been reborn into someone else's war. But this time, I choose how my story ends.
And with that, Kai stepped into the night.
"Welcome, Soldier. You have entered the World of Theralith."
Kai's heart thumped in his chest. He spun around. No one.
"Who's there?!" he shouted.
"You are no longer bound to the realm you once called reality. Your body has been reforged through chaos, your mind preserved through will. You are now a Wielder of Magic. A Seeker of Balance."
The ground beneath him pulsed with energy.
Runes appeared—lines forming a circle, then a square, then shifting into complex arrays of magic. A small interface shimmered into view beside his head, displaying glowing numbers.
Level: 1
Class: Wizard – Basic Initiate
Mana Core: Dormant
Skill Tree: Locked
Weapon: Runesword – Tier 1
Armor: Traveler's Robes – Tier 1
Inventory: Empty
Kai took a step back, then blinked at the floating window. It felt so real. So tangible. He could move it with his finger, interact with it—just like in the game.
But now… this wasn't just a game.
It was reality.
Something growled in the distance. He turned.
Through the crumbled archway ahead, he saw the shadows move—twisted figures with glowing red eyes. They were crawling forward slowly, hunched, dragging weapons of bone and fire. Their skin was pale, rotting, yet they wore tattered robes and necklaces pulsing with dark energy.
Wraith Cultists.
He recognized them instantly—from the game's second dungeon. Except now, they were real.
"Stay calm… stay calm," he muttered. He unsheathed his sword, which hummed faintly in his hand.
The cultists shrieked and charged.
Kai moved instinctively. He slashed forward, casting a basic mana wave, and struck the first enemy square in the chest. It exploded in a burst of light.
A second enemy lunged—he dodged left, stumbled, then countered with a wild swing. His blade connected. The cultist fell.
+12 Points Gained
+1 Rune Core Fragment Collected
A second interface appeared—Skill Tree Unlocked.
Lines spread outward like branches. At the center was his core: Wizard – Initiate. From there, multiple paths branched out:
Elemental Channeling
Mana Surge
Spellblade Techniques
Rune Crafting
Dark Conversion
Each required skill points. Some branches were dim. Others glowed faintly.
Kai's heart raced. He had only seen this in the game. But now… now he was inside it. Trapped.
And for the first time in a long time… he felt alive.
Days passed—or perhaps hours. Time flowed strangely in Theralith.
Kai traversed through the first dungeon: Forsaken Gardens, where living vines tried to strangle intruders. He unlocked Fire Pulse, a low-level flame spell that could light enemies on fire.
Then came the Echoing Catacombs, filled with skeletal knights and bat-winged necromancers. Each enemy dropped essence and rune stones, which Kai used to upgrade his weapon to Runesword – Tier 2, gaining additional mana burst.
After ten dungeons, he found himself facing the first boss—a hulking demon with molten skin and a spiked staff: Infernal Warden.
The fight was brutal. But when he landed the final blow, something changed.
A new voice whispered in his mind.
A voice cold, smooth, and inhuman.
"So… you've awakened."
The world shifted. The dungeon cracked open. The demon's body dissolved, revealing a dark orb pulsing with crimson light.
Kai approached it.
"Is this… a boss drop?"
But when he reached out to touch it—
A vision slammed into his mind.
A throne of bones. A sky of fire. A man cloaked in shadows, face hidden beneath a crown of horns.
The Demon King.
And beside him… stood a woman. A wizard. Familiar. Beautiful. With silver hair and amethyst eyes.
She looked like an ally. She fought beside Kai in earlier dungeons. She gave him potions, smiled, taught him spells.
But in the vision—
She knelt before the Demon King, whispering secrets in his ear.
Kai's eyes widened.
"No…"
She was the Wizard Leader. One of the main characters. A supposed ally.
A traitor.
His heart pounded. The game's story… it wasn't what he thought.
Something far more twisted was unfolding.
And now, he was right in the middle of it.