Chapter 2: Echoes of Delia
Delia—a planet within the virtual universe of the 30th-century game Universal Core.
A game unlike any other. Developed by an unknown publisher using black-box technology far beyond human understanding. It boasted full-immersion and claimed to simulate an entire living world. Millions of players logged in daily, but no one truly knew who—or what—was behind it.
Despite being set in the future, the early-stage gameplay had a 20th-century fantasy feel. On the beginner planet, humanity ruled alone. No elf kingdoms. No beast clans. No dragons or vampires. Just humans... and secrets buried beneath their empires.
And Dexter?
He was never meant to be part of the standard game flow.
An abomination, born of two ancient and powerful galactic bloodlines—dragon and vampire. In the original timeline, he was created in secret, rejected by the system, and dumped on the starter planet as a discarded anomaly. Fueled by rage and despair, he made a pact with a demon, overthrew the planetary governor, and vanished into the wilderness.
He slept there for years... until players arrived and struck him down, never knowing the danger they’d narrowly avoided.
Now, Dexter stood at the beginning once again.
"I am Dexter now," he murmured. "I need to find out where I am..."
He tried to stand. The ground beneath him was cold, damp. He still couldn’t see, the darkness pressing in from all sides like a suffocating fog.
But he moved forward anyway.
With every step, he felt cool droplets of water splashing against his skin—either rain or the slow drip of a cave ceiling, he couldn’t tell. He didn’t stop. Couldn’t stop. Something deeper than fear pulled him onward.
And then—finally—he saw it.
A faint light ahead, flickering through the shadow
s like a dying star.
---
What do you think?
Total Responses: 0