AN: writing novel in .md so ** text ** means bold. btw enjoy
In the tallest mountain of the Starfall Sect, a name once resounded in the continent as it's sole protector, The once prosperous pagoda, lies in ruins.
The wind howled through the scattered debree, carrying with it the scent of ash, blood and something--- eldritch.
In the heart of the ruined Pagoda, a man knelt beneath the broken sky, his robes, once white now soaked crimson, Body broken, breath shallow, but his eyes burned with unyielding fire.
"Last Surviving Species,,,"
An eerie voice came from the sky, as stars blinks like eyes and moves like mouth.
"Resistance... futile..."
The man looked up, his lusterous hair splatter like ink to his side revealing an indescripable smile. with what seems like an astronomical effort, he flipped a bird to the sky.
"My name Is Xu Liang you M***** F***** !"
Lightining Strikes Thrice where he stands as if the stars punishing the defiant man. Each Strike dealier than the last containing worldly laws of unknown origin,
Instead of writhing in pain he laughed
"GOTCHA !"
The man stood up, and under him a mystical array is brought to live.
The lightning stops as the stars stops and watched.
"You must be wondering what the hell did i do now didn't you?"
With a defiant smile he looked up not to the sky nor stars, but to the countless souls that only he can see.,.. friends, enemies, beasts, kings, spirits, mentors all nodding...
"I lived twice you asshole! once as a nameless man in a peacefull world... and this life as a daoist in this shattered land. "
The voice panics, as the sky once clear turned into a cage of iron closing in from all direction.
"YOU!!!!"
The souls all disperses into different directions slamming weapons first into the edge of the iron strings.
"UGGHH"
The impact though far in the horizon reverberates here, as quakes.
"Not so confident now are you ?"
Taunting the creature in the stars the man give the sky a smirk.
_"To the Heavens above, I offer my cultivation."_
The man felt his flesh burn and reshape — accepted as tribute.
_"To the Voids beyond, I offer my soul."_
The void stirred. For the first time, the world stood still.
_"To the Dao that binds all, I offer my truth."_
A miracle unseen by gods or men drew near — inevitability dressed as fate.
_"And to the Earth that bore me, I offer my life."_
The ritual array bloomed in a flash of silence.
And then, the world shifted.
---
**Modern Era – Years Later**
The world moved on. But some dreams never died.
What Xu Liang left behind… birthed a legend.
**ChimeraDream Inc.**
A company that rose from nothing, seemingly overnight. No history. No roots. Only ambition and brilliance — as if touched by fate itself.
Their flagship hardware:
**DreamVR** — a neural-dream interface. Not just virtual reality.
A device that transmits quantum waveforms directly into the brain, bypassing screens and muscle.
You don't play it.
You dream it.
Every sense — touch, sound, scent, pain, pleasure — simulated with terrifying realism.
You wake, and wonder which world is real.
Their flagship software:
**Wuxia Dream: Scattered Worlds**
A world of cultivation without boundaries.
No classes. No rails. No levels.
Just the vast lands of sword and spirit — waiting to be explored.
Mountains can be cleaved.
Rivers can be frozen.
Skies crossed.
And the laws of the Dao can be yours
---
**Seoul, South Korea**
An email.
No subject. No sender. No trace.
Only a pulsing icon:
**DreamVR | Alpha Invitation**
And a message:
To the Demon King who reigns in the world unseen ---
we offer you a new battlefield.
one untouch by the greed of men.
click to reclaim your throne
I should've deleted it.
But these hands — hands that once conquered a thousand tournaments, that once led teams to victory — they whispered otherwise.
In a dimly lit room, lit only by the monitor's glow, my fingers moved before I could think — steady, practiced, instinctual — and clicked the green **[Accept]** button.
I'm retired. A chef now. I own my own restaurant.
Ten years in the competitive scene — esports, world stages, glory.
But I guess… deep down, I never really left.
Curiosity is a powerful curse.
It arrived the next day, along with a date and time of the server opening. it came in a black pristine box with gold trim in between.
So, I put it on , lay down as instructed, and activated it.
===
Initializing DREAMVR: Soulsync Initialized.
Anchor Detected.
Uploading Soul Imprint....
Success.
===
Huh? what's this about souls? ID perhaps? They did not have to do all this for immersion but I do appreciate the extra mile.
===
Welcome, Player 001.
===
Then-
Light
I'm... Falling?
A wind unlike anything I'd ever felt brushed against my face — soft, heavy, and somehow… alive. The air shimmered with something I couldn't explain. Not code. Not temperature. But presence.
And what greeted me…
No.
**What greeted us—**
"Wait A BR? DON'T TELL ME THIS IS A BATTLE ROYALE?"
A voice shrieked from my right. I turned—and froze.
Was that… **Itchy**?
That streamer with the insane reaction timing? I watched him sometimes during lunch breaks. His stream just happened to align with prep hours at my restaurant.
Before I could process it—
"wait!? is that PRETENDER!?"
Ah... yeah... PRETENDER.
"What!? Pretender!?"
"THE DEMON KING! "
"MAY THE DEMON KING REIGN FOREVER MORE"
"WOAH CRAZY IT'S REALLY IS HIM"
"CAN I GET AN AUTOGRAPH?"
Voices from every direction. Faces I didn't know, eyes wide, avatars crowding closer.
Ah.
Yeah.
**PRETENDER.**
That name still echoes.
The tag I carried through a decade of victories.
The one etched in the minds of millions.
The one I walked away from.
I left that life behind a long time ago.
Or so I thought.
he crowd grew larger and larger until we looked like a comet streaking toward an unknown land — a mass of light and chaos falling from the sky.
As the ground approached, our momentum slowed, like time itself held its breath.
And then—
**Soft landing.**
Feet first.
Weightless, like a dream.
===
Wave incoming 09:59
Arm yourselves.
===
"Eh? not a BR but a tower defense? and... what's this? So realistic! "
"Yeah hell the grass is so realistic"
"Look at this ruins guys!"
"Wait there's a... fountain? is this a MOBA?"
"Look at this guys i found a sword!"
Excitement broke out like wildfire.
The crowd that had swarmed around me — the shouts, the fanboys, the autograph requests — they all scattered, drawn by shiny weapons and environmental marvels.
And honestly?
Good.
I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.
Then—
In the corner of my vision.
**I saw her.**
She didn't move. Didn't speak.
Just stood there, watching me through the haze of new players and ancient stone.
Her presence was sharp — clear, like a sword unsheathed while everything else was still pixelating.
**Familiar.**
Even from a distance, I knew.
That platinum-white hair, catching the light like moonlit steel.
That bronze skin — sun-kissed, unyielding.
Even in a sea of thousands, even masked by new avatars, **I could never mistake her.**
**SOVEREIGN.**
We locked eyes.
No words. No wave.
Just a nod.
Simple. Subtle.
But heavy with everything unspoken.
Years of battles.
Dozens of finals.
A rivalry carved into the history of a generation.
And then—
"Oh... oh shit."
"Guys—SOVEREIGN is here too!"
"No way—WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 20XX REMATCH?!"
"PRETENDER VS SOVEREIGN... AGAIN? IN A NEW GAME?"
"God, someone turn the streaming function on NOW!"
"WE'RE NOT WORTHY!"
The crowd rippled like a wave crashing against stone.
Excitement. Hysteria. Panic.
All for a moment of eye contact.
The two of us said nothing.
But the world around us?
It screamed.