Begin 13: Let The Games…
Begin WHOOOOSH!!!!!!
“Neo—” King Arden glanced over with a tense expression, searching for any sign that Neo might offer a bright idea or valuable insight into the matter at hand.
As much as he was a king, his expertise and knowledge had become a bit insignificant since the dawn of the game.
Now, confronted with creatures that appeared to have stepped straight out of science fiction, he instinctively turned to one of the two people present who possessed any real understanding of such things.
However, his composure faltered, and his face paled instantly when he realized that Neon had already vanished.
“Neon!” Maylene cried, her voice sharp with fear.
Lucien surged forward, eyes wide, panic breaking through his normally calm demeanor.
“What is this boy thinking?!” he shouted, ready to chase after Neon—until Atlas raised a hand, stopping him with surprising firmness.
“Uncle Lucien,” Atlas said, a small, confident smile tugging at his lips, “I think Neon will be just fine.
The world isn’t the same anymore… remember?” Lucien held Atlas’s gaze for what felt like an eternity, the weight of unspoken words hanging between them.
At last, he let out a slow breath, his shoulders slumping as he took a step back.
His eyes wandered toward Neon—with his face etched with a mix of uncertainty and unease.
‘I’m not worried about him being able to protect himself,’ Lucien thought, as it had always been clear to him that Neon was special.
The only issue was that Neon never really put in the direct effort to make those things useful.
At least, that’s what Lucien used to think—but now, after learning everything, he no longer doubted Neon’s ambition.
‘I…
just hope the world doesn’t screw him over,’ he added silently, as he and Maylene began to calm themselves while Neon kept moving.
King Arden narrowed his eyes, scanning the clearing.
‘The other one’s already gone?’ he wondered, noticing the white-furred wolf had vanished.
And…
the nobles it had collided with were already starting to heal, their bodies knitting back together.
While everyone’s focus was on Neon, the young man himself was already in a full-on sprint, the shouts of those behind him fading into nothing.
It felt like he was in a world all his own.
He pushed himself harder as Essence gathered within him, his gaze locked firmly on the piercing eyes of the black-furred wolf.
He didn’t know why…
and for the past few days, he’d wondered why that feeling always came.
Whenever he glimpsed anything even slightly fantastical, something deep within him awoke—ancient, primal, and unshakable.
Now, as he ran, the words surfaced once more from the depths of his mind.
“MAKE IT KNEEL.” The voice carried his timbre, yet it did not feel like him.
It echoed like some chained beast pacing behind the bars of his soul, almost as if its claws were dragging over the iron, biding its time until the lock gave way.
With each repetition, it sank deeper, awakening something ancient and unbreakable within him.
And…
The more the words reverberated, the stronger the rush became.
It washed through him with an intoxicating and absolute force, drowning out fear, doubt, and reason.
His senses sharpened, his breath steadied, and the world narrowed into a single, perfect line between himself and the beast ahead.
However, the moment he crossed the fifty‑kilometer mark, the wolf reacted without hesitation.
“ROAR!!!” The wolf… it didn’t howl; instead, it unleashed a thunderous roar.
CRACCCCKKKK!!!!!
BOOOOOOOM!!!!!!
It was a sound so loud and immense that it felt as though it shook the very fabric of the shadowed world.
Without a heartbeat’s hesitation, the black‑furred wolf lunged forward, its sheer force splintering the earth beneath its paws.
Claws tore deep grooves into the soil as it charged, each stride full of raw, unrelenting power.
As it charged, Neon didn’t falter for a moment—in fact, he sped up as his Essences swirled and gathered around him.
[-100 Essence] HUMMMMMMMM!!!!!
In that instant, a black aura twisted and curled around his arm, clinging to him like a second skin.
He pulled his fist back, every muscle tensing with deadly purpose, his eyes fixed squarely on the beast’s skull.
[Night’s Cloak (Legendary)] However, just as the strike was about to connect, the wolf triggered one of its Path abilities and vanished completely.
Its eyes slid shut as its form melted into the surrounding darkness, as though it had merged with the night itself.
Neon’s fist tore through nothing but space, the momentum of his blow meeting nothing but air.
HUMMMMMM!
In that moment, the darkness shifted.
Within seconds, it took shape—a massive fist composed entirely of shadow—and, without a moment’s hesitation, it hurtled toward Neon, who was still slightly off balance.
BOOOOOOOMMMM!!!!!
It slammed into Neon’s right side, and the force of the blow erupted through the clearing, a rippling shockwave tearing the air apart.
The blast sent him sprawling backward, flung like a blazing meteor cast down from the sky, crashing through the space with unstoppable momentum.
He tore through tree after tree, splintering ancient trunks as though they were nothing more than brittle twigs.
BOOOOOOM!!!!!!
Leaves and bits of bark swirled wildly around him in a chaotic dance before his body finally slammed into the ground with a force that left a shallow crater in the forest floor.
And then, just like that, he was there—still, silent, and unmoving.
—– Back on the battlefield, the black‑furred wolf remained concealed within the darkness, its massive form swallowed by the lightless atmosphere around it.
But… it was that very concealment that made the surrounding 100 km feel heavier, colder, as if the creature’s presence had seeped into the soil itself.
Atlas stood rigid, his expression sharpened with tension.
King Arden, Lea, the Advisor, and the nobles clustered behind him, their eyes darting through the gloom.
“Everyone stay alert,” Atlas warned, his voice low and steady despite the dread curling through the air.
Watching the wolf bend the darkness to its will, he realized this was no moment for excitement—his only focus now was on getting everyone out alive.
They huddled together, tightening their formation until their backs nearly touched, eyes darting to track the restless shadows all around.
In that moment, the forest felt undeniably alive, as though it were breathing, watching, and patiently waiting.
Every faint rustle of leaves, every soft sigh of wind carried with it the weight of an unseen danger lurking just beyond their sight.
That was until…
the wolf activated one of its second abilities.
[Dread Howl (Heroic)] HOOOOOWWWLLLL!!!!!
HUMMMMM!!!!!
In that moment, the entire forest trembled.
A howl burst from the darkness—long, thunderous, and dripping with raw, primal fear.
It rolled across the clearing like a tidal wave of fear, sinking claws into the hearts of all who heard it.
The nobles reacted instantly, panic ripping through their composure.
“What…
what is that sound!?” “Get away from it!” “I can’t…
my legs won’t stop shaking!” In that moment, a handful of nobles shot into the air, soaring upward in panicked, erratic bursts as if their bodies moved without thought.
Others staggered back, crashing through undergrowth in a desperate, mindless bid to escape, their fear overwhelming any sense of direction.
Those who stayed behind fought for every breath, their Essence wavering and sputtering as dread chipped away at their composure.
Atlas felt the same cold weight pressing against his chest, but he pushed past it, reaching out to clasp his parents’ hands and anchor them with nothing but stubborn determination.
“Everyone… lock hands and fly upward!” he shouted, his voice slicing through the chaos around them.
“I think…
That damned wolf is doing something to make everyone’s fear stronger.” King Arden grabbed Lea’s wrist, the Advisor latched onto the King’s other arm, and the nobles closest to them quickly followed.
One after another, they linked hands, forming a chain of trembling bodies and holding on tightly, as if the connection itself could keep them grounded.