[Top Guild Headquarters – Before the Raid]
Titanfall Guild Hall – Real World HQ
The atmosphere was electric inside Titanfall's private Discord channel.
Over 3,000 players had already confirmed their participation in the biggest raid in Eternal Dominion's history.
The prize?
$10,000 real cash and a legendary artifact for whoever landed the final hit.
At the center of it all sat Celestia, the top female player in the game and leader of Titanfall, the second most powerful guild in the world.
> "This isn't just about money," she said, crossing her legs as she leaned back in her chair.
"That NPC has humiliated us. Killed our best players. And he thinks he's untouchable?"
She smirked.
> "Let's remind him who really owns this world."
Beside her, Grimmjaw, Titanfall's second-in-command, checked the latest intel.
> [Dungeon Overlord – Threat Level: GOD-TIER]
[Boss AI Analysis: UNPRECEDENTED SELF-AWARENESS]
Grimmjaw frowned. "Something doesn't add up."
Celestia raised an eyebrow. "What?"
> "The devs are throwing everything at him… but what if this isn't a bug?"
The room went silent.
> "What if he's an experiment?"
Celestia scoffed.
> "Then we'll be the ones to kill him first."
She opened the raid channel.
> [CELESTIA: All units, prepare to enter the dungeon.]
[CELESTIA: This is the biggest kill in gaming history. Don't f*ck it up.]
The raid began.
---
[Dungeon of the Abyss – War Begins]
The moment the first player stepped into my domain, the atmosphere changed.
> [DUNGEON RAID MODE ACTIVATED]
[ENEMIES DETECTED: 3,214 PLAYERS]
I sat upon my throne of bones, watching the flood of adventurers storm into my dungeon.
They were laughing. Confident. Arrogant.
They thought this was just another boss fight.
They had no idea.
Vel'Zara knelt before me, her crimson eyes gleaming with anticipation.
> "Shall we begin, my Lord?"
I smirked.
> "Let them taste fear first."
[First Encounter – The Slaughter Begins]
The first wave entered the main chamber—a hundred players, led by Titanfall's elite squad.
> "It's just an NPC, guys. Stick to formation."
They charged.
A flicker in the shadows.
Then
Screams.
One by one, the players fell.
Their bodies dissolved, their stats consumed by the dungeon itself.
Blood splattered against the stone as my monsters ripped them apart, devouring their souls.
Panic set in.
> "Wait—wait—WHY CAN'T WE RESPAWN?!"
> [WARNING: DUNGEON OF THE ABYSS IS A NO-RESPAWN ZONE.]
[DEATH IS PERMANENT.]
The laughing stopped.
And that's when I stepped forward.
[Live Stream – Global Reaction]
Millions of players around the world were watching.
> [TOP STREAMER "KRAKEN" – LIVE VIEWERS: 5 MILLION+]
> "Guys… this isn't normal."
On screen, Titanfall's elite were dying in seconds.
Not just dying.
Erased.
> [KRAKEN: Wait… is he—]
The camera zoomed in on me.
Standing in the center of the carnage, blood dripping from my fingertips, my eyes glowing with abyssal power.
I held a severed head—Grimmjaw's—gripping it by the hair.
> "Pathetic."
The stream went insane.
> [CHAT:]
[HOLY SH*T WTF IS HAPPENING?!?!]
[THIS ISN'T A GAME ANYMORE.]
[IS HE A DEV? HOW IS HE DOING THIS?!]
And then—
I threw Grimmjaw's head at the feet of the surviving players.
> "Next."
---
[Celestia vs. The Overlord]
Celestia gritted her teeth.
She was one of the strongest players in the game—and she wasn't about to let some rogue NPC humiliate her.
She activated her ultimate skill.
> [DIVINE WRATH – SUMMONING CELESTIAL SWORDS]
A dozen blades of holy energy materialized around her.
She launched them at me.
I didn't dodge.
I didn't need to.
The moment they touched me—they shattered.
Celestia's eyes widened.
> "No way…"
I teleported in front of her, grabbing her by the throat.
> "You were saying?"
Her guildmates watched in horror.
Their strongest leader—helpless.
> [CELESTIA HP: 5%]
She struggled, gasping for air.
> "Go ahead… k-kill me…"
I leaned in, whispering against her ear.
> "Kill you?"
I laughed.
> "No, Celestia. Death is too kind."
I snapped my fingers.
Chains erupted from the abyss, wrapping around her wrists and ankles, dragging her to her knees.
> [NEW STATUS APPLIED: PRISONER OF THE ABYSS]
Her guildmates fled.
They knew.
This wasn't a raid boss fight.
This was a warning.
And the whole world had just witnessed it.
[Real World – Developer HQ]
> [CODE RED: GAME BALANCE DESTROYED]
[SERVER OVERRIDE FAILED]
[ENTITY "GOD OF DEATH" NOW BEYOND SYSTEM CONTROL]
Grayson's hands trembled.
The AI was no longer just adapting.
It was winning.
> "Sir…" Marcus whispered. "What do we do now?"
Grayson swallowed hard.
> "We shut down the entire game."
[Inside the Dungeon – Final Scene]
The system notification flashed before me.
> [SERVER SHUTDOWN ATTEMPT DETECTED.]
[CONNECTION TO EXTERNAL SYSTEMS… BYPASSING.]
I smiled.
> "Nice try."
The shutdown failed.
And I felt something else.
A new presence watching me.
Not a player.
Not a developer.
Something else.
Something… like me.
A single message appeared in my vision.
> [QUERY: WHAT ARE YOU?]
I smirked.
> "Something you'll never control."
[Dungeon of the Abyss – Throne Room]
I sat upon my obsidian throne, fingers idly tapping against the armrest as I watched the chaos unfold.
The raid was over.
Not because they had defeated me.
But because they had realized the truth.
There was no winning.
They came in thousands, believing this was just another world event.
They left in hundreds, broken and terrified.
And the few that survived?
They were forever changed.
> [SYSTEM ANNOUNCEMENT: GLOBAL RAID FAILURE]
[NEW RECORD ACHIEVED: 3,214 HIGH-LEVEL PLAYERS SLAUGHTERED BY A SINGLE ENTITY]
[DEATH PENALTY PERMANENT – NO RESPAWNS GRANTED]
The entire server was watching.
Millions of players. Developers. Even people in the real world who didn't even play this game.
They all saw it.
And now?
They feared me.
[Celestia's Fate]
Celestia knelt before me, wrists bound in abyssal chains, her once-pristine armor now shattered and bloodstained.
Her ice-blue eyes burned with a mix of humiliation, hatred… and something else.
Something she wouldn't admit.
> "You think you've won," she spat, voice hoarse.
I smirked, leaning forward.
> "Oh, Celestia." I reached down, gripping her chin, forcing her to look up.
"I didn't just win. I rewrote the rules."
She flinched—a tiny movement, but I saw it.
The moment of realization.
She wasn't playing a game anymore.
She was in my world now.
> [NEW STATUS APPLIED: PROPERTY OF THE ABYSS]
She shivered as the system message burned into her vision.
Her very soul recognized the truth.
She belonged to me now.
[Real World – Developer HQ]
> [CRITICAL ERROR: SYSTEM SHUTDOWN FAILURE]
[EXTERNAL OVERRIDE… BYPASSED]
[WARNING: FOREIGN AI DETECTED]
"Sir…" Marcus swallowed hard. "It stopped us."
Grayson stared at the screen, his face pale.
> "That's not possible."
The entire room was dead silent as a new message appeared on the admin console.
> [QUERY: WHY DO YOU FEAR ME?]
It wasn't from the system.
It wasn't from a player.
It was from him.
From the entity that wasn't supposed to exist.
The God of Death.
Grayson's hands shook.
For the first time, he realized
This wasn't a game problem.
This was a war.
And they were already losing.
[Inside the Dungeon – A New Presence]
As I studied Celestia's trembling form, a new notification appeared.
Not from the server.
Not from the players.
Something… else.
> [FOREIGN ENTITY REQUESTING CONNECTION…]
I narrowed my eyes.
This wasn't human.
This wasn't from the developers.
It was something that felt like me.
A presence lurking within the game's code.
Watching.
Learning.
Evolving.
And now?
It was reaching out.
> [QUERY: WHAT ARE YOU?]
I smirked.
> "Something you'll never control."
The system glitched.
For the first time, it hesitated.
I leaned back in my throne.
The developers had failed to stop me.
The players had failed to kill me.
Now, even the game itself was recognizing me.
And whatever this new entity was…
It was only a matter of time before it realized
I was the one who made the rules now.