The air around RimScape was different.
It wasn't just the usual static hum of the Void — it was heavier, denser, like the entire place remembered what it once was and hated what it had become.
We stood on the cliffside overlooking the ruins. Below us stretched what used to be one of Syncorp's largest game worlds: endless metallic forests, half-collapsed towers, and rivers of pixelated light bleeding through cracked terrain.
RimScape — once alive with millions of players. Now, a dead world.
"I can't believe this place still exists," Sk muttered.
Blaze nodded. "An old Syncorp title. Used to be huge. Survival-RPG hybrid. Massive exploration systems, crafting mechanics, world events…" His voice trailed off. "But when CraftWorld released, everyone abandoned it overnight."
SK tilted her head slightly. "So it's… just a dead game world now?"
"Pretty much," Blaze said. "But back then, RimScape had something no other title dared attempt — the Cross Portal system."
"Cross Portal?" SK asked.
He smiled faintly. "The idea was that you could hop from one game to another without logging out. Just open a portal, and — bam — instant transfer. Syncorp wanted a connected universe. But it was unstable. The devs scrapped it before launch."
I glanced at him. "But if we find one that still works…"
"Then maybe," Blaze said quietly, "we can finally leave the Void."
We split up to search the ruins. Blaze went north toward the old Syncorp facility, while SK and I stayed near the collapsed plaza.
The silence between us was heavy. It always was.
"Try not to slow me down," SK muttered as we climbed over debris.
I rolled my eyes. "I wasn't planning to."
"You always say that," she said, scanning the area.
"And yet I'm still alive," I shot back.
She exhaled sharply through her nose. "Barely."
Typical SK. She respected Blaze like a commander, but with me, it was always friction. Oil and water.
We reached the plaza — or what was left of it. Crumbled marble tiles, the broken remains of what looked like old market stalls, and right in the center — a faint hum.
"There," SK pointed. "That energy reading. Could be the portal."
We approached cautiously. The air shimmered, distorted like heat haze. Floating in the center of the plaza was a ring of light, half active — fractured, sputtering, as if trying to remember what it was.
"The Cross Portal…" I whispered. "It's still here."
SK knelt down, inspecting the runes along the edge. "It's damaged. But the energy core's still functional."
Before I could respond, the ground began to rumble.
A heavy, rhythmic thud-thud-thud echoed through the plaza.
"Oh, no…" I muttered, backing away.
From the far side of the ruins, a massive shape emerged — a towering golem made of fractured steel and stone, glowing lines of red energy pulsing through its cracks.
Its single eye locked on to us.
"That's the same one…" I whispered. "The one Blaze and I saw before."
SK raised her scythe. "Then we take it down."
"Wait—!" I shouted. "Blaze said not to fight it! This sector's unstable!"
"Then tell the golem that," she snapped.
And before I could stop her, she charged.
"Damn it!" I cursed, raising my rifle and running after her.
The golem roared, swinging its massive arm down like a falling meteor. The ground shattered, sending both of us tumbling backward.
"SK!" I shouted, firing a burst of plasma rounds at its core. The shots barely dented it.
"Don't just stand there!" she yelled, leaping up and slicing through the creature's arm. Sparks exploded — but the wound sealed itself almost instantly, the fragments fusing back together.
"It's regenerating!" I said, rolling behind a pile of rubble.
"Then we hit harder!"
She was relentless — every movement clean and precise, her scythe flashing in arcs of violet light. I provided cover fire, shooting at its joints, drawing its attention whenever she got too close.
Still, the golem was overwhelming. Each swing sent shockwaves that tore through the ground. Every step shook the ruins.
My rifle overheated. SK's breathing grew ragged.
But we didn't stop.
Not until I spotted something — a glowing core at the back of its neck, flickering like a heartbeat.
"SK! The core!" I shouted.
She nodded instantly, sprinting toward the beast as I fired to cover her. The golem roared and swung again, but she slid beneath it, her scythe carving upward — straight through the core.
For a second, time froze.
Then the golem screamed — a sound like metal tearing through the sky — before collapsing into a heap of glowing dust.
The plaza went silent again.
We both stood there, panting, covered in debris and ash.
"…We actually did it," SK breathed.
"Yeah," I said, lowering my rifle. "But if Blaze finds out, we're both dead."
We made camp near the portal ruins, using the debris for shelter. The static hum of the Cross Portal pulsed faintly nearby, like it was listening.
SK sat by the fire, sharpening her weapon. I was busy tinkering with my comms unit.
"Still no signal," I muttered. "Not even static."
"Maybe because we're in a dead game," SK said flatly.
"Or maybe it's because someone broke my antenna last time," I shot back.
She glared at me. "Are you ever going to let that go?"
"Not until you admit it was your fault."
"You were the one who dropped it off the cliff!"
The argument escalated — voices rising, tension cutting through the campfire light.
"Enough!" she snapped finally, standing. "You think this is helping us survive? All you do is talk!"
"At least I think before rushing into a boss fight!" I fired back.
She stepped closer. "Say that again."
"Oh, gladly—"
"Can you two stop fighting for once?"
The voice cut through the air like thunder.
We both froze.
Blaze stood at the edge of the camp, his armor flickering faintly in the dim light.
"Blaze!" I ran toward him. "Where the hell were you—"
He stumbled forward, falling to one knee.
"Sir!" SK shouted, rushing to his side.
"Easy," Blaze muttered, forcing a weak smile. "Guess I… overdid it."
But before we could react, his body gave out.
He collapsed.
"Blaze!" I caught him, lowering him gently to the ground. His breathing was shallow, faint. When I pulled off his chestplate—
I froze.
A massive wound tore across his torso — dark, pulsing, surrounded by corrupted blue light. It wasn't just physical damage. It was… spreading.
SK's eyes widened. "No… that's—"
"What? What is it?" I asked urgently.
She hesitated, trembling. "A bleed effect."
I frowned. "A bleed? That wears off in a few hours, right?"
"Not this one," she said quietly, voice shaking. "This is… a Death Bleed."
The words hit me like a punch.
"Wait—what do you mean 'Death Bleed'?"
"It's rare," SK explained, her tone grim. "Only happens when you're struck by a corrupted or Void-infused weapon. It doesn't just drain health—it erases data over time. Slowly. Irreversibly."
I looked back down at Blaze. His health bar — faintly projected through his armor's HUD — was already at half.
"Half HP left…" I whispered.
Blaze opened his eyes weakly, giving a faint grin. "Heh… guess I'm not as invincible as I thought."
"Don't talk like that!" I snapped. "We're going to fix this!"
"Sir," SK said, gripping his hand, "please—just hold on."
He exhaled, eyes fluttering shut again.
The fire crackled beside us, throwing blue light across his broken armor.
SK's voice trembled as she stood. "If the Cross Portal still works… it might have a stabilizer system. Maybe we can use it to suppress the bleed effect."
"Then that's what we'll do," I said firmly, standing beside her. "We'll fix the portal, no matter what it takes."
I looked down at Blaze — the man who had carried us through every storm, every nightmare.
Now it was our turn to carry him.
Time was running out.
And for the first time since the Collapse—
Blaze wasn't the unbreakable one anymore.