[Welcome to the eighth floor: Citadel of Eternal Dusk.]
The ominous message floated before Alex’s eyes, etched in the cold glow of the system’s interface.
He had been here for barely a moment, yet the heavy, suffocating atmosphere of the Citadel was enough to set his nerves on edge.
Even with his staggering arsenal, which included a 60,000,000-damage move, and Alice’s newfound ability to summon arrows capable of shredding through monsters at level 700, Alex knew that recklessness was not an option.
Strength alone wouldn’t guarantee survival.
The oppressive energy of the monsters here wasn’t just about power, it was about endurance.
At some point, their agility, vitality, and endurance stats would falter under the unrelenting weight of the tower.
They would need to increase them.
And if that happened, they’d be sitting ducks for whatever lurked in the shadows.
This was why Alex wanted to clear this floor as quickly as possible.
The [Legendary Attribute Points Pack] reminded him of the [Attribute Points Packs] inside the [Cave of Oblivion].
His plan was simple: gather as many [Attributes Points Packs] as possible and use them to bolster his team’s stats until they could comfortably face a level 1,000 boss.
That was the goal, and for now, he needed to regroup with the girls.
Pulling up the [World Map], Alex scanned the interface.
Two glowing dots marked their locations: [StarPillow] and [Aurelia].
One dot hovered outside the Citadel, likely in the twilight lands that stretched before its entrance.
The other was deep within the sprawling fortress.
Even though he could see Aurelia’s location, the sheer size of the Citadel meant it would still take him several minutes to reach her.
“Alright, let’s get moving,” Alex muttered, ready to scout the area.
He took a step forward, intending to close the distance between himself and the girls. But then—
Blink.
One of the dots vanished.
“Huh?” Alex froze, his heart pounding.
The glowing marker labeled [Aurelia] was gone.
His eyes darted to the [Friend List].
[Aurelia – Dead]
“What the hell?”
Before Alex could fully process what had happened, the second dot, [StarPillow], blinked out of existence too
“No way.”
[StarPillow – Dead]
His teammates, gone.
Both of them had fallen almost immediately upon entering the eighth floor.
“This doesn’t make sense,” Alex muttered, fists clenching as cold dread began to seep into his bones.
He could rationalize Aurelia’s death.
Her stats weren’t on par with the challenges of this floor, so an ambush could have easily overwhelmed her.
But Alice? Her agility, detection tools, and arsenal of powerful skills like [Blood Arrows] and [Space Arrows] should have made her a force to be reckoned with, even against level 750 monsters.
For her to be taken out so quickly meant something else, something far stronger, was there.
And he probably already knew what it was.
The logical move would be to leave the Citadel now that it was registered as a teleportation point on his map.
But running blindly into the unknown without understanding what had killed his friends wouldn’t help. He needed answers.
Taking a deep breath, Alex steeled himself and stepped forward.
And then…
Fwish!
The air shifted.
[The Heart of Calamity informs you that you are dead.]
“What?”
The moment he saw this message and the noise coming behind, he instantly understood that this was how the girls died.
Alex spun around just in time to catch a glimpse of his attacker: a shadow-cloaked figure with piercing white eyes and two massive daggers gleaming in its hands.
In the blink of an eye, the creature moved, its speed beyond comprehension.
Slash! Slash!
Alex felt the cold steel tear through his neck, it had aimed at one of his weak points.
[Weakness destroyed, instant death.]
The system’s notification was swift and unforgiving.
Monsters weren’t the only ones with such weaknesses after all, and a critical strike like this left no room for survival.
His [Blessing of the Fox Spirit], which had saved him before during his clash with Daniel, was already used.
There would be no second chance.
As his vision dimmed and his health plummeted to zero, Alex managed to catch one crucial detail from the attacker’s status window.
[Assassin of Dusk – Floor 8 Boss]
[HP: 600,000,000]
He didn’t manage to see the skills, but having the information this was the floor boss was already good enough.
‘So that thing kills us immediately upon entering the floor.’
And then, everything went black.
Thankfully enough it wasn’t a soul attack, as otherwise he would have been done for, or maybe the [Heart of Calamity] would have helped him?
Who knows.
Ding!
[You have died.]
[Fortunately, the level difference is so high that you will not receive any penalty except for the 30-minute cooldown.]
Alex’s body rematerialized inside the Thunder Family Estate.
The familiar surroundings of the grand living room greeted him, complete with its luxurious furniture and the soft hum of a nearby television.
“Oh?” Mike Thunder, who had been lounging in a chair while watching a show, looked up with mild surprise. “You’re back after days, huh?”
Alex barely registered his voice, still reeling from the encounter.
“With the game limit removed, most people stay inside for weeks, even months now…” Alex sighed.
Mike trailed off, noticing Alex’s grim expression. “What about my daughter and Alice?”
It took Alex a moment to realize what Mike meant.
Unlike him, who had higher-level downsides, Alice and Aurelia would have respawned in the [Fox Tribe Village] within the game itself.
“They’re fine,” Alex said, his voice steady, “Just need to regroup.”
Mike’s eyes narrowed, but he didn’t press further.
“The monsters on that floor…” Alex muttered to himself, piecing together what had happened.
That [Assassin of Dusk] had an incredible amount of strength and agility, since this was now the point monsters became so strong most players wouldn’t be able to endure it.
Discover hidden stories at empire
If this was the threshold for level 1,000 monsters, then it was clear: the endgame was rapidly approaching.
In a few months, the system would remove the [Revive] function entirely, and from then on, death would be permanent.
Chaos would spill into the real world as players began unlocking their powers, reshaping society with both saviors and destroyers.
After all, if you were an invincible mage, no gun or explosion could harm you, even grenades would probably only deal 5 damage to you and atomic bombs wouldn’t help either.
Mike handed Alex a glass of wine, snapping him out of his thoughts. “Want some?”
Alex shook his head. “No, I need to stay sharp.”
“Suit yourself,” Mike said, chuckling. “New generation… even my daughter doesn’t drink. Scolds for it every time she sees me do it.”
Alex smirked but didn’t respond.
His focus was already on the cooldown timer ticking down.
He opened his interface and quickly created a group chat titled [Gods Destroyers].
Adding [StarPillow] and [Aurelia], he sent a quick message:
[FateBreaker: That floor boss is too strong. Don’t leave the game. I’ll come back, and we’ll regroup. Enjoy your break for now.]
The replies came almost instantly.
[StarPillow: I managed to see him, but it was insane! He instantly killed me!]
[Aurelia: I couldn’t even react…]
Alex leaned back and waited, taking a deep breath as the timer finally hit zero.
Ding!
[You can now re-enter Universal Descent.]
“Well,” Alex said, standing up and bowing slightly to Mike. “Thanks for the hospitality.”
“Go kick their asses, kid,” Mike said, raising his glass with a grin.
[Do you want to enter Universal Descent?]
“Yes,” Alex replied without hesitation.
In a flash of light, he vanished, returning to the game.