The sky above the endless void was no longer peaceful.
The soft, twinkling purple stars were gone. In their place, a deep, angry blood-red glow spread across the horizon like a spilled river of fire. The light cast long, eerie shadows across the thirty steps of gray stone that Arthur called his home.
The ground beneath his boots shook and trembled violently.
RUMBLE... CRACK...
The sound was deafening. It vibrated straight up through Arthur’s legs, making his teeth rattle in his mouth. The water in the stone well splashed over the side, sending ripples across the glowing blue surface.
Arthur’s heart hammered against his ribs like a trapped bird—thump, thump, thump, thump!
He stood frozen for a second, his eyes wide with pure terror. Far out in the dark, swirling fog, where the red light burned the brightest, thousands of tiny red dots flickered to life. They looked like glowing embers floating in the dark. But as they came closer, Arthur saw what they really were.
They were eyes. Thousands upon thousands of hungry, glowing red eyes.
"No..." Arthur whispered, his voice trembling as he stepped back until his heels hit the edge of the stone well. "There are too many. How can I fight so many?"
Back in the city of Neo-Veridia, people talked about monster tides in textbooks. They said that powerful armies with big shields and roaring fire-cannons fought them off behind giant city walls. But Arthur was just an eighteen-year-old boy. He had zero family, zero money, a tiny thirty-step rock, a simple wooden fence, a metal dagger, and ten copper coins.
That was all.
Thud, thud, thud, thud!
The sound of heavy paws pounding against invisible ground grew louder and closer, shaking the air itself.
From the red fog, the monsters charged. They were Void Beasts, just like the one he had fought before, but there were dozens of them—no, hundreds of them! Their gray, hairless bodies rushed forward like a living wave of jagged teeth and sharp claws.
CRASH!
The first wave of beasts slammed directly into Arthur’s brand-new wooden fence.
The sound of snapping wood echoed through the void. The sturdy brown wooden posts shook violently under the heavy impact. Sharp claws scratched against the wood, and ugly, hungry growls filled the air, sounding like hungry wolves tearing at meat.
"Hold on! Please hold on!" Arthur shouted, gripping the handle of his metal dagger so hard his knuckles turned completely white.
He didn’t wait to hide. He knew if the fence broke, he would be torn to pieces in two seconds.
Arthur ran forward, his boots slapping hard against the gray stone. He dashed to the front section of the fence where three ugly Void Beasts were piling on top of each other, snapping their jaws and biting through the thick brown wooden posts.
One beast managed to break a wooden slat. Its ugly, wet head pushed through the opening, its red eyes locking onto Arthur with pure malice.
Arthur didn’t hesitate. He pulled the metal dagger from his belt, raised it high above his head, and brought it down with all his might.
Slash!
The blade cut deep into the beast’s neck. Black, thick blood sprayed out, splattering across the gray stone floor. The beast let out a sharp, dying shriek and pulled its head back, disappearing into the squirming crowd of monsters behind it.
Before Arthur could catch his breath, a second beast jumped up, putting its front paws right on top of the wooden fence. It opened its wide mouth, showing rows of sharp yellow teeth, and lunged straight at Arthur’s face.
Arthur ducked down fast. The beast flew right over his head, its teeth snapping empty air.
Thud!
The beast landed clumsily on the stone floor behind Arthur. It spun around instantly, its tail whipping through the air, and let out a vicious snarl.
Arthur spun around to face it. His chest heaved up and down as he sucked in cold, dusty air. His left shoulder, which had just healed from the first fight, began to throb with a dull, stinging pain. Sweat poured down his forehead, running into his eyes and stinging like salt.
"Come on, you ugly dog!" Arthur yelled, his voice cracking with anger and fear.
The beast leaped at him again. This time, Arthur didn’t dodge. He stepped forward right as the beast flew through the air, dropped to one slide, and drove his metal dagger upward with both hands.
Squelch!
The dagger sank deep into the beast’s chest. The creature let out a weak whimper, its red eyes losing their fierce glow. It slumped to the ground, twitching once, and then dissolved into thin air, leaving behind another tiny purple crystal.
Arthur quickly scrambled back to his feet. He looked up at the fence.
The pressure was too much. The wooden fence was cracking down the middle. Two more posts snapped with a loud crack, and a gap opened up on the eastern side of his territory.
"No, no, no!" Arthur muttered, his heart dropping into his stomach.
Through the broken gap, three Void Beasts squeezed their way onto the platform. They hit the ground running, their red eyes fixed entirely on him.
This was the inciting incident of the crisis. He couldn’t defend the whole fence anymore. He had to change his plan, right now, in the middle of the chaos, or die.
Arthur didn’t run away. Instead, he turned and sprinted backward toward the stone well at the back of the island.
The three beasts chased after him, barking and snapping their jaws, their paws clicking loudly against the gray stone.
Arthur reached the stone well just as the fastest beast lunged at his back. He didn’t try to fight it with the dagger. Instead, he grabbed the small wooden cup from the well ledge, dipped it deep into the glowing blue magic water, and filled it to the brim.
As the beast flew through the air right toward his head, Arthur threw the entire cup of glowing blue water straight into its open mouth and eyes.
Hsssss!
It was like throwing water on a hot iron stove. The beast shrieked in unbearable agony. Its body seized up in mid-air, smoking like it was on fire, and it crashed hard onto the ground, rolling over twice before lying completely still.
The other two beasts paused for a second, sensing the strange, powerful magic of the water. Their red eyes flickered with a tiny hint of fear.
Arthur didn’t give them time to think. He grabbed the heavy, broken piece of stone from the ground—the same heavy rock he had used in his very first fight—and lifted it up with all his remaining strength.
"Get out of my home!" Arthur screamed at the top of his lungs.
He ran forward and smashed the heavy rock down onto the second beast’s head with a sickening crunch. The creature collapsed instantly.
The last beast snarled, baring its yellow teeth, and lunged at Arthur’s arm. Its sharp claws raked across his forearm, tearing his skin and drawing bright red blood.
Arthur gritted his teeth, ignoring the burning pain. With his free hand, he jammed his metal dagger straight into the beast’s side, twisting the blade hard. The beast gave a final, choking gasp and dissolved into black smoke, leaving behind a third purple crystal.
Arthur fell to his knees. He was bleeding from his arm. His breath came in ragged, painful gasps. His entire body felt like it was made of lead.
He looked around his tiny island. The wooden fence on the eastern side was broken into splinters. The gray stone floor was covered in dark smudges and dust.
Out in the void, the blood-red sky began to swirl slower. The thousands of glowing red eyes stopped moving closer.
Clack... clack...
Slowly, step by step, the remaining wave of Void Beasts began to back away. They turned around and faded back into the dark purple fog, retreating into the endless void as if an invisible bell had rung to end the night.
The blood-red glow in the sky slowly faded, turning back into the quiet, peaceful purple stars.
Silence returned to the floating island. The only sound was the heavy, wheezing sound of Arthur breathing in and out.
Arthur sat slumped on the cold stone floor, pressing his hand against the bleeding cut on his arm. He hurt all over. Every muscle in his body screamed with pain. He had no family to patch him up. He had no warm bed to lie in. He was all alone on a broken, thirty-step rock.
Yet, as he looked up at the sky, a strange, quiet smile touched the corners of his mouth.
He survived. The massive monster wave hit him with everything it had, and he stood his ground. He broke the fence, he bled, he fought with his bare hands and a stone cup, but he won.
Suddenly, a warm, golden light shone down from the sky above the stone well.
A small, floating window appeared in front of him, glowing with bright, friendly words written in simple letters:
[ Incredible Survival Achievement Unlocked! ] [ You successfully survived a high-tier Dimensional Tide with zero military support. ] [ Reward: Territory Upgrade Blueprint - Small Stone Wall & Gate ] [ Bonus Reward: Ten Pure Energy Crystals and One Healing Pouch ]
Before Arthur could even blink, a small leather pouch and a rolled-up piece of parchment floated down from the golden light and landed gently in his lap.
Arthur picked up the leather pouch. He opened it and found a small, glowing green leaf inside. Following an instinct he didn’t know he had, he pressed the green leaf against the bleeding cut on his arm.
Ahhhh...
A cool, soothing wave of energy flowed from the leaf into his skin. The pain vanished in an instant, and the cut closed up, leaving his skin smooth and clean, without even a scar.
Arthur let out a long breath of relief. He picked up the new blueprint for the Small Stone Wall and Gate.
"Wood wasn’t enough," Arthur whispered to himself, looking at the broken wooden fence. "Next time, I will build walls of solid stone. No monster will ever break through so easily again."
He stood up slowly, shaking the dust off his clothes. He picked up his metal dagger, slipped it securely into his belt, and collected the three purple crystals left behind by the defeated beasts.
He walked over to the stone well, scooped up a cup of fresh, sparkling blue water, and drank it down. His strength rushed back into his body, stronger and clearer than before.
He was still an orphan with zero family, standing on a tiny floating island in the middle of infinite universes. But he was no longer just a stray dog waiting to be crushed. He was a Global Lord, and he had just won his first real war.
He looked out into the dark, quiet void, his eyes shining with a new, unshakeable light.
Bring on the next tide, Arthur thought, clinching his fists. I am ready.
Just as Arthur turned around to check the broken fence, a strange, low sound echoed from deep beneath his floating island—a sound like a heavy iron chain dragging across stone, followed by a faint, metallic whisper that sent a cold shiver straight down his spine:
"Found you..."