Sunshine filtered through gaps in the ruined ceiling.
Adams opened his eyes
For a moment, he didn’t move
His ribs ached, his left arm was useless, and he still remembered the fight against the World Boss. But he was alive. That was enough.
Elena slept soundly next to him, her head on his shoulder
She looked exhausted, but even more than fatigue, there was a sense of deep weariness in her features. Adams waited until she opened her eyes, until her gaze cleared and locked onto his face.
"You’re awake," she said
"Yeah"
She immediately began examining him, her fingers pressing against his ribs, his wrist, his forehead.
"You’re not dead," she said professionally, as if diagnosing him.
"How do you feel?"
"Like I was hit by a building."
"You almost were."
Adams gave a weak smile
Elena sighed and pulled back
"I’ve stabilized most of your injuries, but I couldn’t heal them."
"I figured."
"You need rest."
"I’ve been resting."
"You’ve been out."
"Same thing."
"No," said a voice from the other room
"You’re right."
Riven entered with a bottle of water and tossed it to Adams, who caught it with his good arm. He took a long drink before speaking
"You’ve been out for nearly a day."
"Thanks," said Adams.
Riven sat against the wall, his curved blade lying beside him, wrapped in cloth
For a moment, no one said anything. Adams took in the sight of the shelter; people gathered outside, tending to the wounded, clearing rubble. Life going on
Then he turned back to Riven.
"You survived," he said quietly
Riven looked at him, eyes narrowing
"You sound disappointed"
"Just checking"
"I should’ve left you there"
"You would’ve come back"
Riven hesitated
"Unfortunately"
Adams gave a small smile
Riven didn’t seem to notice, turning his attention to the wrapped weapon beside him
"You made that," said Adams
Riven nodded
"You told me about it"
"I did"
Adams looked at the weapon
"So it really chose me?"
Riven’s expression darkened
"Yes."
He unwrapped the weapon, revealing the same curved blade that had torn free of Adams’s grip during the fight, and which had flown across the battlefield to land at his feet
"The System gave me the designation before I completed the crafting," said Riven
"The Last Archon."
Elena, who had been listening, was clearly fascinated. She knew everything Riven told Adams--he’d spent the search recounting every detail of Riven’s search
Adams frowned
"And you don’t know who that is?"
"No"
"Or why the weapon chose me?"
"No."
Riven looked at the weapon in his hands
"It bothers me more that it chose you."
Adams reached out and touched the weapon, and it responded, a vibration running up his fingers like recognition
Riven watched him closely
"When I tried using it, it rejected me"
Adams looked up at him
"You forged it"
"Yeah"
"And it rejected you."
"Very rude, considering I made the damn thing," said Elena, almost laughing
Adams rotated the weapon in his hands, noting how the balance was perfect, how everything felt right
"Maybe it’s not made for you," said Riven
Adams wrapped the weapon again
"I’m not swinging it until I understand it."
"Probably wise," said Riven
Later that afternoon, Riven brought out several monster cores
He arranged them on the floor in a row, some of them small and round like marbles, while others were larger and more substantial, with veins of light running through them
He’d been studying them since before the stadium, since before the World Boss
"I’m beginning to understand something," he said
Adams looked up at him
"About the cores?"
"Yeah"
Riven picked up one of the larger cores--an Elite Monster they’d killed at the stadium. This one was darker than the others and heavier in his hand
"They’re not all the same," he said. "Their properties are different depending on the type of monster"
"You already knew that"
"I knew they were different. Now I understand why that matters."
Riven placed it down beside the others
"This one stores energy differently from this one. The materials from different monsters also vary--some are denser while others are more volatile. Some resonate with particular abilities..."
Adams glanced at Riven
"So?"
"So I think the materials can be used for other things besides randomly forged weapons."
Riven’s eyes lit up
"Weapons with specific abilities."
Elena looked up from her notes
"Meaning?"
"Someone with fire abilities could use a weapon made from a fire-based monster. Someone with strength enhancement could use something that enhances their physical power."
Riven glanced at Adams
"Something like that weapon."
Adams looked at the wrapped weapon
"You think you can do it again?"
Riven smiled
"I know I can."
Then his smile faded slightly
"I just need to understand what I’m doing first."
That was the problem with his class--it gave him knowledge and instincts, blueprints, but there was still a lot he didn’t understand. The System provided fragments, not answers
He would have to learn
Later that afternoon, Elena arrived with her notebook
She looked worse than when she’d left, paler and more drawn
"How many people?" asked Adams
"Too many."
She didn’t open her eyes
"I’ve been able to heal some of them. Not all of them"
She opened the notebook, revealing pages upon pages of tightly written notes, research, data.
Riven looked over her shoulder
"You’re already keeping medical records?"
"Someone has to."
"What have you learned?"
"That healing isn’t limitless," she said. "It takes energy. Serious injuries require much more energy. Some injuries are much more resilient. Some are much more easily repaired."
Adams looked at her
"You need to rest too."
"I know."
"Then rest."
She looked at him
"You first."
Adams sighed
"Fine."
By evening, a survivor came looking for them
An older man, maybe fifty--his hair was dusty, his face lined with exhaustion
"There are more gates," he said
"More?"
The man nodded
"Like the one we found near the stadium. People have been going inside."
Adams frowned
"Inside what?"
"The gates. They lead somewhere else."
Elena looked puzzled
"Somewhere else how?"
"I don’t know. No one does." The man shifted uneasily. "Some people had gone inside. They didn’t come back"
Adams and Elena exchanged a glance
But Riven was very still, his gaze locked onto the older man
"Where are these gates?"
They were in different places, the man told them. There was one a few kilometers from where they were, and another one further north
Something in Riven’s expression changed as he listened
"Did anyone see what was inside?"
"No."
"Did anyone come back at all?"
The man shook his head
"No."
Riven stood slowly
"These aren’t just gates," he said quietly. "These are dungeons."
Adams looked at him
"Dungeons?"
Riven turned to face them
"In every story I’ve ever read, every game I’ve ever played, this is how it always happens. The System arrives, monsters appear, and then the gates open up."
He gestured at the city around them
"Gates lead to separate spaces, pocket dimensions. Different rules. Different monsters. Usually stronger."
Elena frowned
"You’re talking about them like they’re...familiar"
"Because they are. To me." Riven’s voice was steady. "I’ve spent my whole life writing about stories and systems and classes and dungeons."
He met Adams’s eyes
"I told you before--this is exactly like the stories."
"But this isn’t a story," said Elena
"I know." Riven met her eyes. "But the rules are the same. And in every story, dungeons are dangerous. You don’t go in unprepared. You don’t go in injured. And you definitely don’t go in without knowing what’s inside."
He turned back to the survivor
"Did anyone try scouting it? Getting close without entering?"
The man shook his head
"People are too scared."Good. They should be."
Adams watched Riven carefully
"You think we should go"
"I think we should prepare." Riven’s voice was measured. "Dungeons have rewards. Cores. Materials. Experience. Things we need. But they also have bosses. Traps. Monsters that make the World Boss look like a stray dog."
He hesitated
"We’re not ready. Not yet."
Elena looked at him
"That’s surprisingly sensible."
"I can be sensible."
"Occasionally."
Riven pointed at her
"Don’t ruin the moment."
By the end of the evening, they were comparing what they had individually witnessed.
Monsters were real
People could awaken abilities
Levels existed
Classes existed
Monster cores existed
Gates existed--and according to Riven, led to dungeons
And no one understood them
Riven’s knowledge of novels could give them theories, but that was all they were--theories. The real world didn’t have to follow a set script
But it did
Outside, more survivors gathered around the shelter, some of them with phones, some with radios. Most of them with nothing useful.
Then one phone finally dialed through
Messages were coming in
Lagos wasn’t the only place to be affected
There were reports coming in from Nigerian cities--Abuja, Port Harcourt, Kano
Then other countries
Monsters. Gates. Awakened humans. Areas losing communication
Riven looked at the phone screen
Adams read over his shoulder
"This is everywhere"
"Yeah," said Riven quietly
Elena closed her notebook
For the first time, none of them had anything to say
This wasn’t going to end tomorrow. It wasn’t going to disappear after one battle.
Whatever had happened to the world--had happened everywhere.
By morning, Adams was able to stand
His body still ached, but he could move. The weapon rested against his back, wrapped and secured
Elena packed her supplies. Riven gathered his equipment.
They had no grand plan
Adams wanted to find people--people he knew--from his old neighborhood
Elena wanted to help whoever she could
Riven wanted to understand monsters, cores, and what his Blacksmith class could really do
Their paths converged
They left the shelter
Adams looked up at the ruined city, at the broken buildings, the charred vehicles, the blood on the pavement
This was Lagos. His home
But it didn’t feel like home anymore
Riven passed him
"So, where are we going?"
Adams looked ahead
"Home."
Riven glanced around
"Which one?"
Adams didn’t answer
He simply started walking
None of them knew what was waiting beyond the ruins
But whatever it was, they would have to face it without knowing the rules
Because no one had written them yet