Raindrops rolled down Elena Marlowe’s cheeks as she pushed her way through the filth. She shook her head, letting the water mix with the grime and slid off her cheek.
"Are you sure this is the way?"
Riven pushed forward. "Pretty sure."
"That’s not very reassuring."
"It wasn’t supposed to be."
Twenty-one years old and already a medical student, Riven spent his waking hours in the company of fictional wars, crumbling systems, and pocket dimensions. Elena would have mocked him relentlessly before tonight. She was reconsidering her position at the moment.
Something shrieked overhead and burst through the ruins ahead. Riven didn’t stop. With a flourish, a compact black dagger appeared in his hand. The creature lunged at him, but he sidestepped and let the beast’s claws rip past his chest. He twisted with the motion and drove his elbow into the creature’s neck before knocking its skull apart with the dagger.
As it died, a tiny red orb rolled from the creature’s body. Riven caught it in his palm.
"Another one."
Elena gave him a strange look. "You’re really getting desensitized to this, aren’t you?"
"I’m not." He stared at the orb in his palm. "I’m terrified." He tucked the orb into a pouch at his belt. A translucent window hovered near Riven’s shoulder.
[Riven Cole]
[Level: 13]
[Classes: Hidden]
[Primary: Blacksmith]
[Secondary: ???]
"Still haven’t figured out your second class," Elena muttered.
"Nope." He gave her a sidelong glance. "Guess I’m special."
"You sound delighted."
"I’ve spent my whole life waiting for this."
Elena blinked. "You’re kidding."
"Mostly." He rolled the orb over in his palm. "These are important. The monsters drop them, you know? Energy, refined and contained for use."
"You keep saying that."
"Because it is."
They shouldered through the next set of ruins, and Riven’s expression grew more grim. "Monsters after a global apocalypse event," he muttered. "Status displays. Level-ups. Classes and skills. It’s all exactly like the stories."
Elena came to a halt. "We are not in one of your novels."
"I know."
"Then stop talking like we are."
Riven looked up at the distant skyline, his jaw tight. Smoke curled from the buildings, and somewhere far beyond the city, something huge and terrible roared. He clenched his hand around the orb.
"Unless..."
"Unless what?"
"Unless we are."
Elena stared at him for a long moment, then laughed. "You’ve officially lost it."
"I’m serious."
"You haven’t. And if we are, I’m going to kill whoever wrote this horrible script."
Riven chuckled, shaking his head. "Fair enough." His smile faded as he studied her. "Where are we going?"
"To find Adams."
His expression grew solemn. They hadn’t seen him since the first day of Heavenfall. Elena and Riven had searched the stadium and the surrounding evacuation centers, but he was nowhere to be found. It was Riven, though, who knew that if there was a powerful monster in the city, Adams would find it. He always had been drawn to danger, and he would never, ever turn away from an opportunity to save someone.
"World Boss," Elena said quietly.
" Precisely."
"Do you think he’s gone after it?"
"I know he has." Elena let out a long breath. "That idiot."
"Your boyfriend."
"Unfortunately."
Riven gave a small smile. "He’s probably already fighting it."
"I know." Elena shook her head. "Then we need to get to him before he gets himself killed."
From a pouch at Riven’s belt, he withdrew a small, simple hammer. The cap was black, with fine filigree tracing the edges. He stared at it for a long moment before meeting Elena’s eyes.
"What is it?"
"My first creation."
"You made that?"
He nodded. His blacksmith class had manifested some hours before, and he’d spent the time experimenting with the strange orbs. He’d learned that the energy within could be refined and shaped, and with time and effort, forged into weapons and tools. He titled the little hammer in his palm.
Gravemarch.
There was one tiny problem. Whenever he tried to equip it, the system spat out a single message.
[Weapon cannot be equipped.]
[Required condition not fulfilled.]
[Designated wielder: Unknown.]
It wasn’t enough to simply hold the weapon; the very idea of using it sent a shockwave through the ground. Even then, Riven had kept it, waiting for the right time. The right place. The right person. The last line the system had said before dismissing the message still sent a thrill down his spine.
[Weapon forged for: The Last Archon.]
He had no idea what an Archon was. He had no idea what a Last Archon was. If there was any truth to any of his suspicions, that person would appear eventually. He only had to wait a little longer.
"An Archon?" Elena asked.
Riven blinked. "You’ve been paying attention."
"For the last hour. What is it?"
"I don’t know."
"Then stop making weapons for imaginary people."
"Or she," Riven countered. "It could be a woman."
"Good point."
They turned their steps toward the east district. Somewhere behind them, a building exploded. Neither paid it any mind.
Riven checked his status as they ran. He was level 13, and somehow, Elena was already level 10. Both had uncovered hidden classes, and while Riven’s second class was... mysterious, Elena’s was something else entirely. Celestial Medic. She could heal wounds, purge toxins, restore stamina, and, with enough energy, even repair internal organs. What neither of them knew was where their classes would take them.
Something screamed overhead. A sound like thunder rolled across the city.
"That’s it," Riven murmured. "The World Boss."
"Then let’s go see it, shall we?" Elena grinned. They both pushed forward, running toward the distant roars and the unknown that waited beyond the ruined city.
Several kilometers away, Adams stretched his shoulders, rolling his neck. He let out a satisfied sound and slung a metal pipe over his shoulder. A crude gauntlet of scavenged metal and leather covered his left hand. It wasn’t much, but it would do.
He checked his status.
[Name: Adams]
[Level: 15]
[Class: None]
[Strength: 18]
[Agility: 21]
[Vitality: 18]
[Intelligence: 16]
[Spirit: 17]
[Soul: ERROR]
[Available Attribute Points: 10]
Adams’ gaze swept over the skills menu. One new ability waited beneath the familiar [Archon’s Eye].
[New Skill Acquired: Kinetic Reinforcement]
[Effect: Temporarily reinforces the body by converting external kinetic force into physical output.]
Adams flexed his left hand, feeling the strange power in his palm.
"Well then," he murmured. He squared his shoulders and looked toward the distant city. Smoke curled from the horizon. The World Boss was waiting inside the smog. Adams adjusted his grip on the pipe and started walking.
It wasn’t because he thought he could win. It was because the world needed to see that he tried. People still lived in that direction, and somewhere in the chaos was Elena. The city groaned and shuddered around him as Adams walked toward the roar.