"Die!"
Renan's wand shined bright, shooting a light arrow at one of the eldritch creatures of darkness in front of him.
The arrow hit and penetrated, and just as striking a mirror, one arrow split into two, which homed towards their own individual enemies.
Two became four, four became eight, and eight became sixteen. This cycle cascaded through the approaching army of darkness, a rippling destruction among their ranks.
"Kill them!" An armored knight next to Renan dashed in, intercepting a hidden attack from a shadow figure with his shield, before swiftly slicing it in half. A hint of despair crossed his features as he took in the endless army of darkness, before shaking his head. "Renan, you must assist Empress Aria!"
Without another word, the knight charged forward, becoming one of the many holding back the horde.
With an opportunity created for him, Renan disengaged from the horde of darkness as his figure turned to light, teleporting away.
"Gah!" Renan coughed up blood as he suddenly materialized midair, far from his intended destination. A surge of arcane power immediately put Renan on edge, forcing him to face the source.
An arrogant mage floated in the air above him, countless dead bodies around him. He pushed up his glasses and descended, adjusting his cloak. "Another rat trying to interfere with my master. It would be best for you if you simply lay down and accept your fate."
"In your dreams, Edmund!" Renan instantly shot back then casted, "Meteor Strike!"
A giant magic circle appeared in the air above the two, materializing a meteorite shooting down at Edmund.
Edmund simply sighed, then pushed out with his right arm, sending a powerful wave that repelled the meteor. "You know, I always had such strong expectations for you Earthlings. I thought that surely after witnessing our Great One's power, more of you would come around."
"You're insane!" Renan spat out, trying to draw out the fight to give his comrades a bit more time from being massacred by Edmund. "After your invasion tore open our world and turned Earth into a battlefield, after millions died because of you… you expect us to be on your side!?"
"Heheheheh…" Edmund gave a low chuckle, then disappeared just as an assassin leaped out of the shadows towards him.
"Spatial lock!" Renan instantly reacted, his magic surging into reality around him to prevent Edmund from teleporting away.
Swish!
Yet suddenly, despite assassins countering mages at close ranges, Renan suddenly saw the assassin get sliced in half by a giant spider leg extending out of Edmund's body. Before he could even react-
"Hnghh…" Renan felt something sharp pierce through him. "T-teleport…" He casted the spell, yet nothing occurred. When he looked down, he saw the same spider leg was now sticking out of his chest.
The spider leg exited his body as soon as it entered, leaving him to fall to the floor, his life slowly fading. "I… heal…" The spell activated, yet it didn't do anything. "B-but how…?"
He struggled to turn, desperate to see his attacker, but when he did so, he found that Edmund wasn't even facing him. With a wave of Edmund's hand, the world itself broke like glass, and Renan found himself back in reality once more, though he never noticed when he left.
Renan opened his eyes in realization, "Edmund's alleged mirror magic…!" He then grit his teeth. If he was still alive, he had to do something!
He crawled back up to his feet, wondering why he wasn't killed. But when he looked back up, the sight left him in awe.
He had been taken to his intended destination when he first cast that teleport. "Empress!" Renan couldn't help but call out.
"Arise, my loyal knights!" A regal empress with a divine aura commanded, her hand outstretched as a holy aura filled the air, countless dying and injured knights around her rejuvenated on the spot.
She raised her divine blade against the dark figure ahead of her. Despite her enemy being an imposing figure dozens of meters tall, she held no hesitation as she launched herself to strike the enemy. "Evil God! Your evil ends now!"
"...foolish little girl." The deep rumbling voice rang out from the dark figure, floating in the air. His magic worked for him, black chains materializing from nothing, piercing towards the Empress, deflecting all her blows. A massive shadow of pure darkness lunged from behind him towards the Empress.
"Protect the Empress!" Her Knights surged from behind her, putting themselves in its way and deflecting the attack.
"Ultimate light…" Renan teleported forth behind the knights despite his injury and began to chant, "Far above, beyond our understanding, ultimate light exists. In light of such a prospect, I call upon the world to bless my spell tonight, I will bring light!"
For a moment, the air trembled as a figure of pure light appeared. But not from behind Renan, but the Dark One himself!
"Impossible!" Renan stepped back in shock. His spell's summon was aiding the Dark One!? Or perhaps his spell simply didn't work!? He didn't understand!
"Enough of this farce." The Dark One rose up into the air, "Genesis is nearly complete. I see now that you do not possess the capability to stop me."
"Knights, to me!" Empress Aria quickly ordered, and a shining aura emanated outwards from her body.
Renan felt himself fully energized, ready to unleash his full potential. He rose in the air alongside the Empress and her Knights ready to strike with all his might!
The Dark One raised both hands.
Thwack!
It felt like a gentle blow.
Renan began falling down. His sight was filled with blood and countless bodies following alongside him. "Aah…."
What just happened…? Did we… die? I can't feel my legs…
With his power fading, he looked up just in time to see the Empress torn to shreds by attacks he could no longer describe.
Rage filled him.
"Go to hell!"
His defiance sparked an outburst of rage from the survivors around him. Countless broken bodies who had nothing left but their anger.
"Burn in hell!"
"You inhuman filth!"
"I spit on your grave!"
"May your bones turn to ash!"
Unbothered by them, the Dark One rose further into the air, a bright spark of mixed light and darkness held within his grasp which fused into him.
BAM!
As soon as he did that, a wave of destruction spread outward, erasing everything it touched.
There was no time to react. One moment Renan was screaming his defiance. The next, he was dust.
…
Renan's eyes snapped open. He was looking up at his old bedroom ceiling.
This is my old room. Before everything went to hell.
He pressed a hand against his chest, feeling his heartbeat. It felt strange in a way he couldn't quite define.
There's no way I'm here. This place was destroyed long ago. I must be under an illusion.
"Light Shell!" he commanded a spell, attempting to break the illusion.
Nothing happened. He couldn't even feel mana.
Fine, then!
Renan sat down, determined to break free, taking a lotus meditative position. He tried channeling his Will directly to break out of this imprisonment.
For a second, pain passed through his mind as he forced his focus inward to reset his mental state. And yet he was still in this room.
He recognized every detail of the room. Everything was exactly as it had been years ago. Before the VR pods, before the "game", before humanity learned what Masteria Online really was.
The whole thing had been a ploy. What everyone thought was a revolutionary VR experience turned out to be something much worse. A way to connect Earth to another realm entirely. One about to be destroyed by an evil deity.
He checked his phone. June 11th, 2021.
Four years before the end.
Renan began contemplating. He had to assume that he did go back in time, given that he already tried all possibilities to bring his mind back into reality with no results.
Not to mention, he had no idea how he could possibly be in an illusion, given that he should have died.
Time travel shouldn't be impossible. Masteria had three major deities, including the Goddess of Time. She'd been dead for years, but perhaps her successor had managed one final gambit.
He sat at his computer, same desk, same cute goat wallpaper, and searched for "Masteria Online."
He found nothing. No advertisements, no news, no discussion forums. As far as the internet was concerned, the game didn't exist.
He checked gaming forums and social media and yet not a single result had appeared.
Am I the only one who remembers?
The thought unsettled him. Why him? He'd never been special. Not a top player, not a genius, not a hero. He was average, only surviving on luck alone
He left his room and went to reconfirm with his brother Randy.
"Morning," he said, leaning against Randy's doorframe.
Randy spun around in his gaming chair. "You're up early."
Renan waved it off. "Had the strangest dream last night. Anyways, you ever hear of something called Masteria Online?"
"Masteria Online?" Randy looked confused. "What's that, a new MMO? Is there an announcement trailer I missed?"
"Something like that. You sure? Nothing at all? Not even a dream?"
Randy gave him an odd look. "That's not how dreams work. You probably just imagined it."
"Just curious." Renan retreated to his room, hiding the trembling in his hands until after he was alone once more.
Sudden dread hit him. He'd survived the apocalypse, yet here he was, falling apart.
I'm past this. I've seen friends die, mentors burn. Why now?
But he knew why. If he was the only one who remembered, Earth's survival rested on his shoulders. And despite everything he'd endured, he wasn't a hero.
He'd been a survivor, not a leader. Now the fate of billions depended on him preventing a catastrophe that felt inevitable.
Why me? There were others more qualified.
Renan clenched his fists. There was no time for self-pity. Someone had given him this chance. He couldn't waste it.