He was lying on grass that felt warm and dry, brittle at the tips from the hot sun. The wind rustled the dry stalks, brushing them against the man's arms. As he slowly stood up, he took in the beautiful scenery-something you would commonly see in European paintings. Seconds ago, he had been standing in cold winter snow; now he stood in a grassland stretching as far as the eye could see.
"Where am I?" Alfred asked. The bruises on his body were no longer visible, and his eyes were no longer twitching in pain.
As he looked around, he noticed the entire place was devoid of souls. Behind him stood a dense forest of oak trees, their trunks wrapped in thick vines, and to his left was a large cave-like boulder.
Unsure of what to make of it, he decided to climb to the top of the boulder. Gripping the rough surface carefully, he pulled himself upward. As he reached higher, he noticed a beam of light appearing above its peak.
He remembered it being similar to what had happened to him just a while ago.
Then he saw a young woman appear as the beam of light disappeared; she was dressed in a ripped gray jacket, patched coats, scorched fabric, and mismatched armor plates. Her beautiful silver-white hair reflected perfectly in the radiant glow of the sun above. She slowly opened her eyes, revealing light green irises.
As she looked down, she noticed Alfred, still midway up the boulder as he struggled to climb. Their eyes met, locking for almost ten seconds, before the woman jumped off the boulder and gracefully landed on the field of grass.
Alfred slid down the boulder, careful not to hurt himself, and also landed smoothly on the grass.
The woman ignored him. She glanced at her watch first, then began walking forward, toward the direction of the grassfield up north.
"Hey, do you know where we are?" Alfred asked, but the woman in front ignored him again. Her pace began to quicken, forcing Alfred to adjust his speed.
"Umm, my name is Alfred. What's yours? Are you lost too? You also appeared through a beam of light, right? Do you know anything about it? Miss?"
The woman stopped midway and spoke, "Artemis. That is my name." She placed her right hand on her pocket, taking out an object neatly placed inside, revealing a sharp knife with a chipped tip. "Do not follow me."
Immediately, Alfred raised his hands and slowly backed down. "I understand, miss."
Artemis slid the knife back into her pocket and continued moving ahead. Alfred then stepped away slowly, deciding to make his way back towards the boulder, keeping his eyes on her and not wanting to get involved.
THUMP!
Alfred immediately looked back to see a large pit appear out of nowhere. Artemis was holding on tightly with her arms as she struggled to climb up.
"Hold tight! I'm coming!" Alfred yelled. "I got you!"
He managed to hold her hands tight before she ultimately fell down. Below were poisonous snakes, most likely Gabion Vipers, due to their large, curved fangs.
With all his strength and a bit of struggle, he managed to pull her out from the pit, letting her adjust her footing.
Both of them collapsed onto the ground, breathing heavily. After a while, Alfred was the first to stand. He brushed the grass clinging to his coat, then extended a hand toward Artemis, who was still lying on the ground.
The moment Artemis noticed, she pushed herself up on her own, using her hands to steady her weight.
"No thank you? Okay then," Alfred said, pulling his hand back and sliding both hands into the pockets of his gray coat. "Will you at least answer my question?"
"What are you, eight?" Artemis scoffed. "How could your universe choose such an intellectually empty fool?"
"I'll take that as a compliment." Realizing it was unwise to provoke her further, Alfred returned to his original plan and began making his way back toward the boulder.
Just as he was about to take his first step, multiple beams of light began to appear. There were tens, then hundreds, now thousands—scattering across the entire land.
The sky grew gloomy, replacing the soft white clouds and the cool summer breeze.
As the light faded, more and more people appeared. Some held weapons; others possessed extra body parts that looked completely unreal to Alfred's eyes.
"Who are they?" Alfred asked, "and who… are you?"
"This is Aetherhall," Artemis replied. "Where the fate of all our universes is at stake."
She stepped closer to Alfred, their bodies now so near that he could smell her sweat mixed with a faint, almost soft scent.
"If you don't want to be an embarrassment to your entire universe," she said coldly, "you'd better back off."
When suddenly a large, holographic-like board appeared in the sky, its surface faintly patterned with shifting lights. Its edges glowed with a sharp white border, and the background shimmered in a hypnotic light blue. The words displayed were written entirely in dark crimson red, saying…
"KILLING SPREE"
...
...
A large horn echoed across the land, followed by a female voice:
ROUND ONE: KILLING SPREE
Time Limit: 30 minutes
Participants: 1,000,000
Rules:
…
As the board disappeared, the timer began counting down:
30:00
29:59
29:58
"That's it? What are the rules?!" shouted a man with a red bandana and slicked-back hair.
"Yeah, where are the rules?!" another yelled.
"Everyone, calm down. Let's just wait and see," a man with long hair, dressed in a flowing white robe and holding a wooden staff with a yellow orb, said.
The crowd glared at him, some with clear disapproval, but his words managed to quiet most of the noise.
People waited. Some sat down to rest, while others tried to make small talk with those nearby, although Alfred, still near Artemis, remained in the same awkward position, watching as she continued her cold, indifferent demeanor.
"It has been almost ten minutes since the game started, yet nothing has happened."
Far off, a massive, heavily muscled man paced from side to side, clearly growing impatient.
Next to him, a man with glasses knelt on the ground, trembling uncontrollably. His breathing grew heavier by the second, and anyone close could hear his rapid heartbeat.
The large man's patience finally snapped. He grabbed the massive two-handed sword strapped to his back. "Shut up!" he shouted, then quickly swung it down at the trembling man. In an instant, the man's head was severed with a single, brutal strike. His body collapsed to the ground, blood spraying across the field.
"Then, out of nowhere, a bell rang, and the holographic board above began to update."
Players Remaining: 999,999
Kill Count Ranking:
Dunsel: 1
"What are you doing!?" the man shouted, his eyes cold as he swung his rope-like weapon. It shot forward, wrapping tightly around the large man's neck. With a ruthless pull, the victim struggled for a moment before going limp, leaving his lifeless body on the ground.
A few seconds later, another loud bell rang.
Players Remaining: 999,998
Kill Count Ranking:
Azazel: 1
The notification spread through the crowd like wildfire. After that everyone around seemed to instinctively understand what to do. Slowly, they drew their weapons, preparing their battle stances.
In the blink of an eye, everyone dashed forward, attacking the person closest to them. Weapons clashed, the clang of each strike buzzing across the grassy field all at once.
Some ran quickly, dodging the chaos, while others chose to fight. One by one, people began to die as the powerful emerged victorious. But they did not stop after killing their first target—they moved on to the next, and then the next. As the gloomy sky continued to darken overhead, the blood of the fallen stained the once-beautiful green grass.
Some were unfortunate enough not to notice the pit traps scattered across the field, and those who fell were immediately bitten by the venomous vipers below.
"This is bad," Alfred thought as he watched everyone around him continue to fight.
Behind him, someone wielding a rapier swiftly charged straight at him. By the time Alfred noticed, the man was already too close for him to react and dodge.
THUD!
A powerful force shoved Alfred out of harm's way. It was Artemis. She swiftly pulled two knives from her pockets and blocked the incoming rapier, stopping it cold. She then countered, throwing one knife and catching it mid-motion as she switched her grip, aiming for the man's body.
The man with the rapier immediately dodged backward and straightened his posture, preparing to attack again.
Alfred, who had been thrown to the ground, stood up and searched for a safe place to hide. He remembered the large boulder and quickly started running, dodging the slashes of those fighting nearby and making sure not to draw attention to himself.
5:34
5:33
As the clash continued, Alfred managed to hide in the small gap behind the large boulder. A few seconds later, he noticed a man with an injured left foot, forcing him to crawl instead of walk.
"Hey, you… come here," Alfred whispered to the injured man.
When the man finally noticed him, he paused for a second, wearing a strange smile. Then he began crawling toward the gap. But as he moved, Alfred noticed a small weapon tucked in his pocket. Something was wrong.
"Don't… come any closer, or I'll kill you!" Alfred yelled.
The man didn't seem to care and crawled toward him faster this time.
"Stop!" Alfred shouted again.
The man laughed harshly as he drew the weapon from his pocket, raising it to strike Alfred, who was still hiding behind the boulder.
SLASH
It was Artemis. She had stabbed the man in the head, killing him instantly. His body collapsed to the ground as blood spread, forcing Alfred to step back from the gap.
"Useless as ever," Artemis said, her face still cold and expressionless.
"Thank you for saving me," Alfred said, lowering his head.
"Don't get the wrong idea. You saved me once; I'm just repaying my debt."
1:00
0:59
BEEP BEEP
As the last minute ticked down, the scoreboard updated again.
Players Remaining: 872,890
Kill Count Ranking:
Mysnous: 132
Artemis: 132
Fredric: 102
Kaelith: 100
"One kill left," Artemis muttered.
But as the two scanned the area, there was no one else—only the bodies of fallen players.
Alfred looked at Artemis, feeling the bloodlust in her eyes, and asked, "You're not planning anything against me, right?"
Without responding, she drew her knife again and pushed Alfred against the boulder. The blade pressed against his neck, slicing slightly.
0:34
"Please… don't kill me… I'm… begging you," Alfred whispered.
Artemis ignored him, continuing to pin him down.
0:12
"Please…"
Finally, in the last seconds, Artemis stopped. She slipped the knife back into her pocket just as the timer hit zero.
Alfred fell to his knees, coughing for air.
Then the final scoreboard appeared:
Players Remaining: 872,913
Kill Count Ranking:
Mysnous: 134
Artemis: 132
Fredric: 102
Kaelith: 100
"Tcch!" Artemis snapped, clearly pissed. Then she placed both her hands on her ears, and suddenly a dark hood formed over her head, covering her entirely.
Then the digital woman from earlier returned, her voice echoing:
CONGRATULATIONS!
CHALLENGE: KILLING SPREE COMPLETE
PLAYERS REMAINING: 872,913
The gloomy clouds vanished instantly, revealing a clear, light-blue sky. As everyone looked up, they noticed a massive shadow above.
It was enormous, floating high in the sky. A city—a floating city.
The woman's voice spoke again:
"PLAYERS, WELCOME TO AETHERHALL."