MMORPG : Ancient WORLD

Chapter 283  A Dream-II

It took seconds before the vast assembly of individuals who had appeared with a grand entrance were now gone, leaving behind nothing but an empty void of space.

All that remained were the enigmatic man named Cosmorian, the female draped in the chaotic dress, and the formidable entity responsible for killing everyone.

'What the hell did I just witness?' Alex thought, in utter shock, as his memories flashed back to the past few seconds.

As hundreds of individuals emerged from the constantly spawning rift, they moved in perfect unison, like having heard a command rushing toward the singular entity.

Each of them emitted an aura so potent it seemed to warp the very fabric of space. Alex braced himself for what he assumed would be a formidable battle, but what transpired next left him utterly stunned.

The entity spoke a few cryptic words, "Darkness Embrace," and in an instant, the surrounding void came to life. It was as though the ocean itself had been stirred into a furious storm.

The darkness surged and billowed like the relentless waves of a ravenous abyss, hungrily devouring every approaching individual, one after another.

The sight was both mesmerizing and terrifying, etching itself into Alex's memory, and despite their space-shattering retaliatory attacks, only a scant few individuals survived the initial onslaught, being precisely sixteen.

The colossal draconic creature, with multiple serpentine heads, wasn't even affected by the rampaging darkness as any that came near him disintegrated to nothingness.

The dragon didn't even bat an eye to the hundreds getting swallowed by darkness, and instead simultaneously opened all its mouths and started to conjure a condensed sphere of cerulean energy that obliterated the surrounding space in its vicinity, leaving behind a void of nothingness.

The brilliance of this energy sphere was overwhelming, causing even Alex's mind to ache, yet he couldn't avert his gaze or mentally close his eyes.

In mere moments, the sphere expanded to hundreds of meters in radius before gradually condensing, its vibrant cerulean hue transitioning into pure white. In the span of a few heartbeats, it had shrunk to a mere tens of meters in radius.

While the sphere of annihilation took form, ethereal chains adorned with ever-shifting runic inscriptions materialized around Dark, binding him in place, yet he stood still, not even attempting to break free.

All these events, from Dark's initial attack, devouring hundreds, to his subsequent binding and the dragon's energy blast, had transpired in what felt like a mere four seconds, at least according to Alex's perception.

Alex watched in slow motion as the sphere, shining brighter than a thousand suns, erased the surrounding space like a dense object moving through a cloud of dust.

Alex held his imaginary breath as he waited for the impact as the sphere carved through space, in an instant, arrived mere meters away from him before it exploded, its condensed mass unfurling at the speed of light.

Dark raised his hand, casually snapping away the runic chains as if they were fragile threads, and with his palm facing the rapidly approaching, blinding light of destruction, he murmured, "Nihility Purge."

In response, the surrounding darkness moved once again with unparalleled swiftness, shrouding the massive source of energy in its entirety in an instant, leaving no trace behind.

The aftermath of the attack didn't even happen as even the sound was erased, and the surrounding space returned to its normal state as if the destructive force had never been unleashed.

Alex hadn't seen any individual unleash their elemental domain, but their mere presence in space and the attacks these individuals were performing made it clear to him that they were much, much stronger than any elemental Ruler.

'Let's end this and greet little Sera.' These were the last words Alex heard, which he felt carried some emotion before the entity took out a sword with a unique appearance.

It was a long sword forged from the darkest of metal in a single piece, and between the hilt and the blade where there should be a guard was a circular hole, and suspended inside of it was a small point of darkness.

Alex watched as the entity vanished, only to reappear before one of the sixteen individuals. Each time he changed location, Alex's vision went dark, and over the next three minutes, the entity effortlessly killed all sixteen of them without facing any resistance.

The multi-headed dragon endured for nearly a minute, surpassing all the others in terms of longevity. His remarkable regenerative abilities kept him alive, but his demise was gruesome.

He was sliced into hundreds of pieces, and as his body attempted to regenerate, a shroud of darkness enveloped him, claiming his existence.

In the few minutes during which the entity was mercilessly dispatching the remaining individuals, Alex subconsciously attempted to make sense of his situation.

However, the best Alex could guess was that he was experiencing someone else's memories, and as for whose memories these were, why he was experiencing them, and even for how long he would stay like this, he remained utterly perplexed.

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(The Present)

Dark looked at his sister with a mixture of sadness and acceptance. "Sera, my dear sister, come give big brother a hug," He said, arms outstretched for an embrace, his deep voice tinged with happiness.

Sera hesitated for a moment, her eyes filled with conflicting emotions. She took a step closer to Dark, her chaotic dress swirling around her like a tempest frozen in time. As she embraced her brother, a tear rolled down her cheek.

"I never wanted it to come to this, but I have to stop you," she whispered, her voice quivering.

"I understand, little one," Dark held her tightly, his arms enveloping her in a protective embrace as he murmured, his voice filled with love and understanding.

"You don't need to carry this burden, and always remember, Big Brother loved you and will always do so," Dark said and held his sister in his embrace for a few seconds before letting go.

Dark gently placed his hand above Sera's head, his touch filled with a bittersweet farewell, and then, in an instant, he vanished, leaving behind a lingering sense of loss and the echo of his parting words.

After vanishing, Dark appeared face to face with Cosmorian, while Alex was feeling a myriad of emotions, from acceptance, sadness, happiness, and extreme rage, and none belong to him.

"You fearful, power-hungry vermin," Dark's voice resounded, laced with rage, cutting through the tension-laden atmosphere like a chilling wind.

"If something ever happened to my sister, you will die, and I will make sure of it," Dark said, and with those chilling words hanging in the air, he took out and extended Cosmorian a dagger.

The dagger didn't have a physical blade but an ethereal one adorned with ancient, shifting runes that seemed to hold an archaic power.

Cosmorian's eyes widened in shock as he looked at the dagger, realizing the gravity of Dark's actions, and without an ounce of hesitation, in one swift motion, he took the dagger and, in a single, resolute motion, thrust the ethereal blade into the dark chest.

This was the last thing that Alex saw before his vision once again turned dark, and before he could even contemplate what was happening, his mind returned to deep slumber.