Sable stood alone amidst the ruins, the pulse still buzzing through his body, an unrelenting storm of energy. His surroundings seemed to close in on him, the desolate city stretching endlessly into the distance, as if mocking his solitude. He could feel the weight of it all — the isolation, the chaos, the crushing pressure of a game that had turned into a nightmare.
The woman's words still echoed in his mind, cold and cryptic. "The beginning of the end."
But what did that mean? What was he really facing?
The answer, he soon realized, wasn't something he would find by standing still.
Without a word, Sable turned and started moving through the empty streets. The once-bustling metropolis now felt like a graveyard, its shattered buildings rising like tombstones. Not a single soul remained except for the broken, twisted figures that seemed to linger in the corners of his vision, watching him from the shadows. They weren't enemies. They were reminders of the past, reminders of the players who had lost their way, trapped forever in the aftermath of the game's catastrophic fall.
The pulse surged again, this time stronger than before. His senses sharpened, every detail of his surroundings flooding his mind in a blur. The wind carried the faintest scent of blood, and somewhere deep in the city, the faint sound of a scream echoed, bouncing off the ruins like a distant memory.
Was it a survivor? Or something else?
Sable quickened his pace, the city stretching on for miles ahead, the direction unclear. His feet seemed to move of their own accord, drawn toward something, some force that called to him. It wasn't the first time he had felt this strange pull — something in his blood, something in the very air around him that told him he was on the verge of a revelation. A breakthrough that could change everything.
His chest tightened with anticipation. The woman had spoken of "the beginning." But what would be the end? And what part would he play in it?
He didn't know. But he had to find out.
The path ahead narrowed, twisting and winding through the skeletal remains of the city. He passed through alleyways and streets where the debris had begun to reclaim the land, as if the world was slowly trying to bury itself. Each step was heavy, laden with the knowledge that every inch he traveled was taking him deeper into something unknown.
Then, as he rounded a corner, he stopped dead in his tracks.
Ahead, standing in the middle of the road, was a figure. Not a creature, not a player — but something far more sinister.
It was a man, tall and cloaked in black. His face was hidden, a dark hood concealing his features, but the air around him vibrated with an oppressive force. It was like a void — sucking the very light from the surroundings.
"You've come," the figure said, his voice a low growl that sent chills down Sable's spine. "The last of the players. The one who would defy the game's end."
Sable narrowed his eyes, instinctively stepping into a defensive stance, his body instinctively reacting to the threat. "Who are you?" he demanded. "What is this place?"
The figure tilted his head slightly, the faintest smirk pulling at the corners of his lips. "I am what's left of Eidolon. I am what remains after all the players, all the fools who thought they could conquer this world, failed."
Sable felt his grip tighten. This wasn't just another NPC. This was something else, something far more dangerous than anything he had faced before.
"What do you want?" Sable asked, his voice laced with defiance.
"What do I want?" The figure chuckled darkly, his form shifting, melting into the shadows. "I want to end this charade. I want to tear down what remains of this broken world."
Sable's mind raced. End this charade? Was this man the key to the entire game's collapse? Was he the one responsible for all of it?
"Why?" Sable asked, though he already knew the answer. He could feel it in his bones. This man wasn't interested in victory or glory. He was after something far darker — something that would leave nothing but destruction in its wake.
The figure stepped forward, the air growing colder with each movement. "Because," he said, his voice low and deadly, "there is no victory here. There is only the end. You, Sable, are the last player standing, and you will be the one to witness the end of everything."
Before Sable could react, the figure raised a hand, and the world around him seemed to ripple, distorting like a mirage. The buildings around him trembled, the ground cracking beneath his feet as if the very fabric of this world was being torn apart.
"You will see it, Sable," the figure hissed. "You will see the end of Eidolon. And you will see the true power that lies beneath it."
The world around him shattered.
It was as if Sable had been ripped from the very ground itself. Reality twisted, bending, folding into itself like a broken mirror. The air grew thick with the weight of the transformation, and Sable's pulse skyrocketed as the sense of control he had built over the pulse began to slip away. The energy within him surged uncontrollably, sparking and crackling like a live wire, threatening to consume him.
And then — as if a curtain had been drawn — everything stopped.
Sable stood alone again. The city was gone. The figure was gone.
Instead, he found himself in a vast, empty void.
The space stretched on endlessly, a black sea of nothingness. There was no sky, no ground, only the oppressive weight of the void pressing in on him from all sides. He could hear nothing but the sound of his own heartbeat, each beat pounding in his chest like a warning.
"Welcome," a voice echoed in the emptiness.
Sable turned sharply, his hand reaching for his weapons — but there were none. His body felt different. Weaker.
"You were always meant to be here," the voice continued, smooth and alluring, like a serpent's whisper. "You are the last piece of the puzzle. The one who will decide the fate of everything."
Sable's breath caught in his throat. This voice — it wasn't the figure from before. It was… different. More powerful. And it came from all around him, like the very space itself was speaking.
"What do you want from me?" Sable demanded, his voice shaking with a mix of anger and fear.
The voice laughed softly, a dark, knowing sound that sent chills down his spine.
"I want nothing from you, Sable," it said. "I want you to see. See what lies beyond the game. See what lies beneath the surface of everything you thought you knew. See the truth… of Eidolon."
The ground beneath Sable's feet began to shift again, this time slowly, inexorably, like the universe itself was twisting.
And he was falling.