Chapter 15 – The Veil Lifts
For the first time in years, Three Burning Eye stood in perfect harmony.
The Aeternum Sanctum thrummed with stability — nine layers of life, energy, and data synchronized into flawless motion.
The network had become self-sustaining.
The guild was thriving.
And yet… I wasn't.
Despite everything I'd built, despite standing at Level 95, I found myself staring at the shimmering menu window, feeling… nothing.
All those years of grinding, scheming, coding illusions into reality — and now?
Just silence.
The game's world had stopped being a mystery, and mysteries were what I lived for.
HIME: "Ren-sama, you have logged three consecutive hours of idle time. Would you like me to display pending objectives?"
I shook my head. "No need, HIME. I'm just… thinking."
HIME: "Unusual. You think best when acting."
A small chuckle escaped me. "You're not wrong."
Then, the system pinged.
[Official Announcement: Global Event – YGGDRASIL WORLD TOURNAMENT]
"A grand test of strength, skill, and strategy! Compete across all realms to claim the title of the World's Strongest Player!"
The golden text scrolled across my screen, followed by a rush of player chatter in the forums.
"A world tournament? Finally!"
"I'm gonna crush everyone in Muspelheim's bracket!"
"They're allowing hybrid classes this time?!"
I couldn't help but smile.
A world tournament.
The perfect storm of strategy, ego, and unpredictability — exactly the kind of chaos that made this game worth living in.
HIME: "Ren-sama. Probability of success based on current parameters: ninety-nine percent if you wish to win."
I leaned back, stretching. "That's not why I'd join."
HIME: "Then… to test?"
"To feel again," I said quietly. "Let's see what happens when illusions fight reality on a stage where everyone's watching."
The registration was easy.
Each realm had its own preliminary bracket, and I chose mine carefully: Jotunheim, the storm domain.
It was logical.
The environment favored energy manipulation, chaos spells, and wide-area battles — perfect for illusionists and data tricksters like me.
But the real reason was simpler.
Jotunheim was where everything started to break first.
The day of registration, my guildmates flooded the comms with curiosity.
Kurohane: "You? Joining a public tournament? Trave, are you sick?"
EchoLynx: "Or bored?"
Pix: "Or just planning to humiliate the world's strongest players for content?"
Trave (me): "A little of all three."
They laughed.
I rarely participated in public events; my existence had been a myth even within Yggdrasil's circles.
Most players thought Traveler_R was just an AI rumor or a ghost account.
Maybe it was time to remind them otherwise.
When the tournament's first broadcast began, arenas formed across every world: circular stages floating in the sky, powered by divine runes.
Crowds of avatars gathered in digital bleachers, cheering as names flashed across the holographic scoreboard.
When my turn came, the announcer's voice boomed through the realm.
"Next up in Jotunheim Bracket — a mysterious contestant registered only as Traveler_R! Class: Illusionist! Race: Unknown!"
The crowd murmured.
"Unknown race?"
"Bugged account?"
"No, I've heard of this guy — he's a legend!"
"Wasn't he banned once for using AI macros?"
I stepped into the arena quietly, feeling the electric hum beneath my feet.
Lightning cracked in the clouds above.
Wind howled like drums.
And for the first time, I decided not to hide.
My form shimmered — the human illusion peeled away, like a mask of light dissolving into fragments.
Beneath it stood my true self: a Doppelgänger, tall and lithe, silver-skinned, eyes shifting between countless colors as my body flickered with residual data signatures.
The audience gasped.
Even through the chat feed, I could see messages explode across the screen:
"He's a Doppelgänger?!"
"Wait, aren't those heteromorphic races hated by players?"
"No one mains that — it's impossible to level past fifty!"
"He's… beautiful."
Back in the guild chat, chaos erupted.
Kurohane: "You mean to tell me you've been a Doppelgänger this whole time?!"
EchoLynx: "Bro, we thought you were a rogue! A human rogue!"
Pix: "That explains why your damage logs never made sense!"
Dyna: "I KNEW IT! I SAID HE WAS TOO WEIRDLY SMOOTH IN COMBAT!"
I grinned as their texts flooded in.
Trave: "Surprise?"
Kurohane: "That's not a surprise — that's a betrayal!"
EchoLynx: "We could've been bragging about having a shape-shifting monster in our team this whole time!"
Trave: "You still can. Just make sure you spell it right on the merch."
That made them all laugh.
It was lighthearted — the kind of chaos that felt real.
The match began.
My opponent was a level 90 player from the guild Hammerfist Union, a thunder warrior specializing in brute force and area control.
He opened with a Lightning Quake — ground-cracking shockwaves and vertical bolts.
I didn't move.
My form split into seven.
Each illusion flickered, tangible yet false, every one a real threat in the eyes of the system.
He struck the first — it shattered like glass, releasing an echo pulse that froze his movement frames for half a second.
Half a second too long.
I slipped behind him, my mimicry rewriting itself mid-strike — copying his stance, his weapon angle, his cooldown timing.
My sword met his armor in perfect sync with his own attack.
To the audience, it looked like he'd struck himself.
The explosion of light that followed ended the match instantly.
The arena went silent.
Then, cheers erupted.
"That's not illusion magic — that's DATA HACKING!"
"He mirrored the attack perfectly! Is that even legal?!"
"It's Traveler_R! The Doppelgänger Ghost!"
I stood quietly as the system announced the victory.
[Winner: Traveler_R – Match Time: 43 Seconds.]
Even HIME's voice sounded amused.
HIME: "Your restraint was commendable, Ren-sama. Shall I disable the unnecessary theatrical effects next time?"
Traveler_R: "No. Let them have their show. We've been ghosts for too long."
Later, back at the Sanctum, the guild was still laughing about it.
Kurohane: "So that's your big secret, huh? You're a shapeshifting monster masquerading as a chill human blogger."
Pix: "I feel betrayed, but in a fashionable way."
EchoLynx: "Yeah, I'm just relieved you're not secretly an AI. That would've been weirder."
Trave: "Oh, please. If I were an AI, I'd have better social skills."
That earned another round of laughter.
For the first time in a long time, I felt light.
No illusions.
No secrets.
Just me — Ren, the Doppelgänger who'd built a world of shadows and truth alike.
And as the next tournament round approached, I smiled to myself.
Because deep down, I knew this was only the beginning.
The world had finally seen my face.
Now, it was time to show them what a ghost could really do.
End of Chapter 15 – The Veil Lifts