The digital sky above Darkwood Forest burned crimson as the countdown timer reached zero.
Seventeen seconds until the server shutdown.
"Keir, wait up!" Ryan's voice crackled through voice chat, his orc avatar Ironskull sprinting through the trees behind me. "Don't tell me you're actually going through with this!"
I stopped walking, my assassin character Keir Kage standing at the edge of the Forgotten Shrine. The place was legendary among players—a hidden location that supposedly unlocked a secret quest for level 90 players. But we were all stuck at 89, just one level short. One level away from becoming Immortals in the game's lore.
"My job starts next month, Ryan. I can't keep living like this—gaming eighteen hours a day, sleeping on my parents' basement floor, surviving on instant noodles. I'm twenty-six years old. When does this stop?"
The rest of our guild, the Eternal Vanguard, arrived behind Ryan. Emma's elf archer materialized first, her silver hair shimmering beneath the digital moonlight. Tyler's high elf mage followed, his cloak billowing with faint magical energy. And finally, Lucas's human paladin, his armor immaculate.
"So, this is it?" Emma asked softly. "Three years together, and now... you're just walking away?"
It hurt more to hear it than I had anticipated. They weren't just random players. Emma and I had spent countless nights talking after raids, sharing things I hadn't told anyone else. Ryan was the one who helped me through my father's death two years ago, staying on the phone for six hours while I cried. Tyler had loaned me money when I couldn't afford my subscription.
"I'm not abandoning you," I said, a lump forming in my throat. "I'm leaving the game. There's a huge difference."
"Is there?" Tyler asked. "Because from where I'm standing, it looks the same."
The countdown timer appeared in everyone's vision: [SERVER SHUTDOWN IN 60 SECONDS]
"Ah, to hell with it," Ryan suddenly declared. "If this is your last night, let's make it count. See that shrine? There's a hidden boss in there. They say it drops a legendary vanity item. I was saving it for level 90, but... whatever. Let's do it now."
"We're under-leveled," I protested. "The recommended—"
"Since when did we care about recommendations?" Emma was already walking toward the shrine's entrance. "We are the Eternal Vanguard. We never played it safe, remember?"
She was right. That was how we became one of the top guilds on the server—by making reckless decisions that somehow resulted in triumph.
[SERVER SHUTDOWN IN 45 SECONDS]
"Fine," I conceded, following them into the sanctuary. "One last moment of sheer stupidity, for old times' sake."
The shrine's doors opened as we approached. Inside was a suffocating darkness that seemed to swallow all light. Ancient runes on the archway pulsed with a disconcerting, almost living rhythm.
[WARNING: ENTERING RESTRICTED AREA]
[IMMORTAL'S TRIAL - REQUIREMENTS NOT MET]
[MINIMUM LEVEL: 90]
[CURRENT PARTY LEVEL: 89]
[PROCEED ANYWAY? Y/N]
"See?" I pointed at the warning. "We shouldn't—"
Ryan had already clicked YES.
The world spun violently.
It turned white. Then black. Then, colors I couldn't comprehend, shapes that strained the eyes.
When my vision cleared, we were no longer in Darkwood.
When my vision cleared, we weren't in Darkwood anymore.
We stood on a circular arena suspended in the void of space. The stars above shifted in defiance of physics. Our floor was transparent crystal, revealing the abyss beneath. And in the center of the arena, a figure hovered that sent a chill down my spine.
It was vaguely humanoid, but profoundly wrong. Its skin glistened with starlight. Its eyes burned with white fire. Its cloak, woven from the very fabric of reality, wrapped around its form.
Above its head, where a name and level should have been, only this appeared:
[???]
[The First Immortal]
[WARNING: This entity cannot be defeated]
"What the hell is this?" Lucas's voice cracked. "What is going on? Where are we?"
The entity spoke, and the sound didn't come through our headphones. It resonated inside my skull, behind my eyes, deep in my bones.
"MORTALS. YOU DARE SEEK THE PATH TO IMMORTALITY?"
Ryan tried to say something, but no words came out. The pressure in the air was crushing, suffocating.
"FIVE ENTER. ONLY THE WORTHY SHALL ASCEND. CHOOSE YOUR PATH, OR BE UNMADE."
Five pillars of light erupted around us, each one containing a swirling vortex of energy. My interface suddenly displayed options:
[THE IMMORTAL'S TRIAL - PATH SELECTION]
[This choice is PERMANENT]
[Once chosen, there is no return]
[Choose wisely, for your path will define your existence]
Five paths appeared before my eyes:
1. Path of Shadows - Death walks with you. Darkness answers your call. Become the blade in the night.
2. Path of Blood - Battle is eternal. Each kill makes you stronger. Become the war that never ends.
3. Path of Elements - Fire, ice, lightning, storm—all bow to your will. Become nature's wrath incarnate.
4. Path of Light - Life flows through your hands. Hope burns in your heart. Become the shield that never breaks.
5. Path of Void - Space bends. Time fractures. Reality is yours to command. Become the walker between worlds.
"I can't log out!" Emma screamed in a panic. "The button is gone! Everything is gone except this choice screen!"
I checked my interface. She was right.
[SERVER SHUTDOWN IN 30 SECONDS]
The timer was still counting down, but we weren't disconnecting.
"CHOOSE NOW, MORTALS."
My health bar started draining. One percent per second.
"Everyone pick something!" Tyler shouted. "We're dying!"
"This is insane!" Lucas was frantically pressing keys. "This can't be happening! This is just a—"
"CHOOSE!"
The pressure increased. My health dropped to 80%. 79%. 78%.
I had no time to think. I was an assassin. Shadows is my specialty. I reached toward the first pillar.
[PATH OF SHADOWS SELECTED]
[Beginning Soul Integration...]
Pain exploded through my body—not the mild discomfort of game damage, but real agony that made me scream. My avatar started dissolving, breaking apart into streams of shadow that wrapped around something else, something deeper.
Through the pain, I heard the others screaming too.
Saw Emma reaching for the Light path.
Tyler grasping Elements.
Lucas choosing Light as well.
Ryan diving toward Blood.
"THE TRIAL BEGINS."
The white light consumed everything.