Months had bled into a grim reality, and Azure Prime was drowning in its own blood. Every day was a slow, agonizing retreat from one shattered defensive line to the next. They didn’t just need to survive anymore—they needed a victory. Holding a crumbling wall wasn't enough, and shutting down a couple of minor rift portals was a drop in the ocean. To strike real fear into the abyssal hordes and reignite the dying embers of human hope, they had to break the rules. If brute force couldn't tip the scales, desperation would breed a different kind of madness.
Ash had never expected to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with a legend like Dusk Whitmore. Long before Evan Valor rose to dominance, the tiger-kin beast had reigned supreme as the undisputed apex of Azure Prime. Back when Ash was still scraping by in the dirt, he had clawed his way up by leeching off Dusk's legendary kill counts to harvest precious stat points.
The beast-king was a blur of gold and shadow. A single, ground-shaking leap brought him right in front of Ash. Before the dust could even settle, Wolfpack-36 cast Voidwalk, wrapping them both in a shroud of absolute stealth.
It was a reckless gamble, but Ash didn't hesitate to transfer the party leadership to the tiger-kin. If they actually pulled this off and triggered a Planar Broadcast, let the legend take the spotlight.
"No need for the modesty, kid," Dusk rumbled, his voice vibrating through the stealth field. "I've got more fame than I know what to do with. The whole realm knows my name."
"I'm just trying to keep a low profile," Ash muttered.
"A low profile?" Dusk scoffed. "You? You've been living under a rock if you think you're still a nobody. You have no idea how loud your name is echoing across the world right now."
He wasn't wrong. Ash's recent streak of soloing Voidlords had sent shockwaves through Azure Prime.
"You need to step into the light," Dusk continued, his massive paw shifting as they moved. "Azure Prime needs to know there's more to us than just Evan Valor. Your name isn't just a target on your back—it's a beacon of hope for everyone fighting to survive. If Evan ever bites the dust, the people need someone else to look up to, or they'll give up entirely."
The words hit home. Ash flashed back to his early days right after the Awakening. Every time a legendary player's name lit up the sky with a Planar Broadcast, it had been a lifeline, a reason to fight another day.
This wasn't a solo game; it was a whole plane raging against extinction. As long as someone paved the path forward, others would find the strength to follow. Every dead Voidlord was another brick laid in the foundation of their survival.
"You're right," Ash said, adjusting his grip on his bow. "I'll let the cards fall where they may. But still... I don't know how Evan bears that kind of weight. The pressure must be suffocating."
He wanted more. More kills, more collapsed rifts, more dead Voidlords and Overlords. He wanted to feed stat points to the survivors of Azure Prime every single day, keeping the spark alive.
"We need dozens of Evans, dozens of you," Dusk said, his eyes scanning the horizon. "And if the next generation surpasses us, then we've done our jobs. But don't sweat the details. The odds of this run succeeding are less than ten percent. We're just too stubborn to roll over and die without trying."
With a flick of his interface, Dusk tossed the party leadership back to Ash.
"Fair enough," Ash replied with a wry grin. "But ten percent? You're underselling us."
Even coming from a living legend, that estimate stung. Give Ash an hour of uninterrupted, stationary DPS, and he could melt anything in existence. Sure, he lacked the grand perspective of the realm's top-tier strategists, but his ignorance bred a lethal brand of confidence.
"Arrogance is a common disease before the fighting starts," Dusk chuckled softly. "But I like the attitude. Keep that fire burning, win or lose."
"An hour," Ash said. "We hit them hard, and we run. But can Wolfcrag hold out that long?"
"It'll have to," Dusk said, his gaze hardening as a sudden surge of killing intent bled into the air. "But once this is over, I need you to do something for me. Go to the White Tiger Bastion. I don't ask for much, but there are a few bastards there who need to stop breathing."
"Consider it done," Ash said without hesitation. "I might not be much of an adventurer, but when it comes to a City Defense Siege, I'm a goddamn specialist. Just secure me some support, and I'll hold an entire rampart by myself."
"A whole rampart?" Dusk arched an eyebrow.
"What, still doubting me? Massive AoE, extreme range, and zero cooldowns."
Dusk's eyes ignited with a predatory gold light. "Deal. If we survive today, I'll set you up with the same high-tier support squad Evan Valor gets. Unlimited mana. We'll crack open a keg on the battlements and paint the stones red. It'll be a hell of a show."
Ash grinned, though he knew drinking would be out of the question—he needed both hands to draw his bow.
"Let's survive today first," Ash said. "There's a mountain of War Merit waiting for us."
Dusk turned to their stealth specialist. "Wolfpack-36, lay low around here. We'll find you in an hour."
Infiltrating Grimwind Fortress was a suicide run. Entering the maw of the beast meant the smaller the squad, the higher the survival rate.
Every Prime Citadel was a black box of horrors, their true interiors shrouded in mystery. Grimwind Fortress was no exception.
Deep within its labyrinthine heart, sequestered in a pocket of warped space, stood an ancient, looming statue. If Ash were here, the effigy would have triggered an eerie sense of deja vu.
Splayed before the pedestal was Hei Ming, a massive Abyssal Dreadworm. This was the current Voidlord of Grimwind Fortress, the very beast Ash had terrified into retreating back to its lair.
"Wait for them here, Hei Ming," a voice echoed, cold and clear.
The statue's stone lips didn't move, yet the voice resonated directly inside the Dreadworm's mind. The monument possessed an uncanny, omniscient grasp of the battlefield, predicting Dusk's movements before the tiger-kin had even taken his first step.
"Your whim is my command, Master," Hei Ming hissed, prostrating its massive, chitinous body.
The worm didn't need to think; it only needed to obey. Its ascension to a Voidlord had been a direct gift from this entity. Before the Awakening, Hei Ming had been nothing more than a mindless maggot. But under the statue's gaze, its life-force had evolved, unlocking terrifying new abilities and multiplying its health bar tenfold.
To Hei Ming, this stone figure was a god.
Azure Prime harbored over three hundred Prime Citadels, each serving as an anchor for the Abyssal invasion. And at the heart of every single one stood a similar statue—vessels for an unfathomable cosmic consciousness.
"Once Ash Valor and Dusk Whitmore are dead, raze Wolfcrag to the ground," the cold voice commanded. "Grimwind has suffered heavy casualties. We must consolidate our forces before the next push."
Gathering forces was simple enough. The fortress was a perpetual meat grinder; endless streams of Abyssal creatures poured through the dimensional rift every second.
"We expected to conquer Azure Prime within a month," the voice mused, devoid of emotion yet dripping with irritation. "To think after all this time, so many of their defensive nodes still stand. It is unacceptable."
The statue continued, "Our primary error was miscalculating Evan Valor. Our intelligence on him remains dangerously incomplete. Humans are a resilient, deceptive species. We cannot allow a second Evan Valor to rise."
"Dusk's invincibility skill only lasts an hour. The moment he crosses the threshold of Grimwind, seal the spatial barrier. We cannot harm him while it's active, but we can trap him like a rat. When his hour is up, he dies."
"In three months, the planar conduits will upgrade. A tidal wave of high-tier Abyssal forces will flood this realm. Remember, Azure Prime is not the prize. It is merely a stepping stone, a bridge to the grand planar war."
"Take total control of this world within the next ninety days."
"The other Citadels will crush the remaining human strongholds. Once the countdown ends, we march on Peerless City."
"The fools who built these planar defenses thought they could stem the tide. Delusional."
The Abyss could not be stopped. The monsters of Grimwind Fortress knew that wasting time on these fodder realms was a waste of resources. This war had dragged on far too long. Every time the invaders neared total victory, Azure Prime would spit out another monster of its own—human anomalies who refused to break, rising like stubborn weeds.
And right now, two such anomalies were creeping through the outer shadows of Grimwind.
As Ash caught his first glimpse of the Prime Citadel, his breath caught. It was a monolithic black fortress of impossible scale, sprawling across an area larger than Southhaven and soaring nearly ten thousand meters into the bruised sky. The sheer mass of the fortress choked the surrounding air, bleeding a gray-black rot into the atmosphere.
Directly above the central spire yawned a massive, swirling black hole—the Spatial Conduit connecting their world to the depths of the Abyss.
"It looks like a dying, black sun," Ash whispered.
Legions of monsters spawned from the dark vortex, marching down the battlements to reinforce the frontlines. Ash focused his gaze, activating his Eye of Clarity to inspect the rift.
`[Spatial Conduit: A portal leading directly to the Abyss. Information restricted.]`
"Weird," Ash muttered. "This thing is massive. How can we not see it from Wolfcrag? How many monsters come through here every hour?"
"Roughly ten thousand," Dusk replied. "Across all of Azure Prime, that's nearly four million fresh monsters every hour."
Four million kills an hour just to maintain a stalemate. The mental math was staggering. The sheer attrition of human lives required to combat those numbers was sickening.
"At least most of them are Level 100 trash," Ash noted.
"For now," Dusk corrected grimly. "But they adapt, and they level up. The average level of the incoming hordes is rising. A couple of months ago, they were Level 200. Now, Level 300s are becoming the norm. Soon, we'll be facing Level 400 armies."
A hundred levels of growth in a single month. Only Evan Valor had ever matched that absurd pace.
"Stop," Ash sighed. "You're killing my morale. Let's just focus on breaking this thing first."
"Ready?"
"Ready."
Ash didn't hold back. He popped every agility buff in his inventory, maximized his mana pool, and downed a cocktail of high-tier potions.
`[Holy Ward active: Immune to all sources of damage for 1 hour.]`
The notification flashed. The golden buffer settled over his skin. He was ready to paint the town red.
With a deafening roar, Dusk leapt. He didn't fly, but the sheer force of his jump defied gravity, launching them through the gray clouds. A second later, the tiger-kin slammed down onto the highest peak of Grimwind Fortress, bathed in a blinding, holy light.
Ash stood tall on Dusk's massive back, pulling his bowstring to its absolute limit, aiming directly at the swirling black void above.
"Skybreaker Arrow!"
The heavy projectile tore through the air, screaming with kinetic force.
`[Crushing Blow triggered!]`
`[-20 HP]`
"What the actual hell?" Ash stared at the floating numbers, his brain stalling.
Twenty damage? From a Skybreaker Arrow that successfully proc'd a Crushing Blow? Under normal circumstances, that single shot should have dealt over two hundred million damage.
Determined, he unleashed Tenfold Shot.
`[-1 HP]`
`[-1 HP]`
`[-1 HP]`
He rubbed his eyes. Was his HUD bugged? If the planar conduits were this indestructible, then even a million clones of Evan Valor wouldn't be enough to make a dent. No wonder the Wolfking had looked so defeated. No wonder Evan was at a loss.
But Ash wasn't one to quit. Even if he proc'd Death Strike, could he actually destroy a Spatial Conduit?
Below them, the abyssal legions continued their march, completely ignoring the intruders. To them, the duo was nothing but static in the wind. Ash shifted his targets. If he couldn't scratch the Conduit, he'd target the monsters streaming out. He queued up another Tenfold Shot, picking out the highest-level targets in range.
"This fortress isn't just a building," Ash grunted, watching his arrows slam into the battlements. "It feels... alive."
Even his Critical Strikes did nothing to the fortress walls. The structure was functionally immortal. Every basic Defense Tower lining the ramparts packed the punch of a Level 7 guild tower, despite only displaying as Level 1.
"Ash," Dusk's deep voice interrupted his thoughts. "Something's wrong. A barrier just went up."
Ash looked up. A faint, shimmering dome of distorted space had materialized over the fortress. "I can't lock onto it."
"Then ignore it. Keep firing."
"Is it a defensive shield?"
"A spatial lock," Dusk said, his voice eerily calm. "Your Displacement Talismans won't work here anymore. And I can't jump us out."
The realization hit Ash like a physical blow. "We're trapped? And you're acting like this is just another Tuesday?"
"We're sieging a Prime Citadel, kid. Did you expect a walk in the park? Today ends one of two ways: we tear this place down, or we dive into that black hole and see what the Abyss looks like from the inside."
"Great. You're just as crazy as the Wolfking."
"What else is there to do?" Dusk rumbled. "We do our best and accept the outcome. Besides, you still have that one-percent chance, don't you?"
Dusk was serious. He was fully prepared to bet his life on a microscopic margin of error. Perhaps that was the only way Azure Prime could survive—on the backs of absolute madmen.
"They're completely ignoring us," Dusk noted, looking down at the silent fortress. "A bit insulting, don't you think?"
"We're immortal for the next fifty minutes," Ash snapped. "Why would they waste their skills on us?"
Despite the quiet chaos, Dusk's pulse remained steady.
"If we fail," Dusk said, "do you want to jump into the portal with me? I've always wanted to see what's on the other side. Maybe scream a few curses into the void."
"If we go down," Ash muttered, his initial panic giving way to a strange, numb resolve, "I'll scream right alongside you."
He caught himself. No. This is wrong. He didn't want to become numb like these old-guard legends. He wanted to live.
His eyes scanned the dark courtyard below. There, skulking near the shadows of the central statue, was a massive, serpentine silhouette.
"Think you're safe down there, you overgrown worm?"
The target was at the absolute limit of his range.
"Heaven-Shattering Thirty-Strike!"
Thirty overlapping sonic booms tore through the courtyard.
`[System Notification: You have slain Hei Ming, Voidlord of Grimwind Fortress!]`
Ash let out a long breath, a fierce grin breaking through his exhaustion. "Dusk, I think we might actually pull this off."
"Hey," Ash added. "Lend me some gold."
"What?"
"I need to put out a Planar Broadcast."
Dusk snorted. "You humans have a screw loose."
But the transfer went through. Ash pulled up his interface, his fingers flying across the virtual keyboard.
`[Planar Broadcast (Ash Valor): Grimwind Fortress is on the verge of collapse! All available combatants, coordinate and teleport to Wolfcrag immediately for the stat bonus! The counterattack begins today. Stand tall, brothers and sisters. We are taking our world back!]`
A few days ago, Ash would have laughed at the idea of himself making a speech like this. He had always rolled his eyes at Evan Valor's grandiose, empty promises of a bright future when everything was burning.
But now, standing on the edge of the abyss, he finally understood.
"If we fail, who cares?" Ash muttered. "I'll be dead anyway. Let them curse my name."
The broadcast went live, and Azure Prime erupted. Across every siege line, morale surged like a physical wave.
Then, a cascade of system alerts hijacked the sky.
`[Planar Broadcast: Evan Valor has slain Voidlord Pinewood! All Stats +10 for all citizens of Azure Prime!]`
`[Planar Broadcast: Evan Valor has slain Voidlord Black-Locust!]`
`[Planar Broadcast: Evan Valor has reached Level 400!]`
Ash stared at the floating text, dumbfounded. "I thought he went back to defend Peerless City? What is he doing at White Tiger Bastion?"
"The monsters probably thought they could catch the bastion undefended while I was away," Dusk chuckled. "They fell right into his trap."
"That bastard," Ash cursed, checking his private messages. "He told me he was holding the line at Peerless City. I literally drafted evacuation plans because of him."
Evan Valor's private status update popped up on Ash's feed: `[Holy shit, almost got myself killed there. Note to self: stop showing off.]`
Ash rolled his eyes. He wouldn't believe a single punctuation mark that came out of Evan's mouth.
But the impact was undeniable. The sudden rush of stat points and dead Voidlords ignited a fire across the realm. Players rushed to the ramparts, pouring into besieged cities to join the fray.
"He's good," Dusk admitted. "Only Evan could pull off a stunt like that."
But before the celebration could peak, a blood-red announcement hijacked the system.
`[Crimson Vow Guild Broadcast: Ash Valor and Dusk Whitmore are walking into their graves at Grimwind Fortress! Grimwind stands eternal, but Wolfcrag will be wiped from the map today! Stop celebrating. Evan Valor is feeding you lies!]`
Ash stared at the red text, a cold fury bubbling in his chest. He had known the Crimson Vow was corrupt, but to actively sabotage the realm's morale during a critical offensive was outright treason.
"When I get out of here," Ash whispered, his hand tightening on his bow until his knuckles turned white, "I am going to personally wipe every single Crimson Vow member off the face of this earth."
They were working with the Abyss. There was no other explanation.
Evan Valor's response was instant, flashing across the global channel.
`[Planar Broadcast (Evan Valor): To the leadership of The Stellar Pact: care to explain this? Crimson Vow has been rotting our ranks for years. If you don't purge them, I'll assume you're hosting the moles yourselves.]`
`[Planar Broadcast (Orion): @#$!%! The Skystrider Guild is recruiting. Help us hunt down these Crimson Vow trash!]`