3. Collapse and Creation

Bang, slice, claw.

Sound effects beamed out of the TV as a young Harvey sat in front of it, completely immersed. This was his life, once he came back from school he'd play games, without eating, not wanting to.

His gaming alias, 'Hajun,' derived from his name, Harvey Jude Laurier, remained consistent from Vancrest Online to Grandroad up until now, making it an unwittingly legendary identity in the gaming world.

He was at the top of the ranks, he knew this but he didn't care about the fact until he grew older, he just had fun playing games all day. Not knowing where it had put him.

Harvey raised his hands into the air, showcasing that he wasn't going to equip his weapons. "What do you want?"

"You should've stayed back in Falusha for a while, if you had heard about the faction maybe you would have been cautious about picking up a stranger."

"What's this about..." Harvey took a soft step forward but stopped when Harlow's grip on her strengthened. "Don't hurt her please..."

"You know, regardless of whether you accept it or not, we're trapped in here with a hundred thousand other people and if we die... we do so in real life, did you really think everyone would just come to terms with that fact?"

"..."

"The look on your face shows you don't know anything so let me get you up to speed, slightly after the first death was announced a clan was formed. A clan for player killers and I don't know if you heard the news, but over twenty thousand players have died already." Harlow laughed as he looked at Elizabeth. "There's a way to leave the game and I have to kill you to get to it!"

"Killing me would let you log out... I don't know who's feeding you such a lie but c'mon, you're smarter than that." Harvey tried taking a step closer once more but Harlow tightened his grip even further and from where he stood he could see blood drip down her neck.

"Don't blame us... That's just the way it is." Arla added and Harvey shot her a quick look.

"Why befriend us then? Why not just kill us on the first floor."

"You're a hard man to catch off guard, hence why I had to make Arla keep Elizabeth at bay. A split second was all I needed and then, who wouldn't want to talk to Hajun the Condemned, one of the greatest players the gaming world has ever known." Harlow laughed.

Harvey analyzed his surroundings, he didn't know how strong Harlow was since player levels weren't shown outwardly like monsters, however, he was sure Harlow had started playing way before he did. He had way more mana and skill points to work with and the addition of Arla into the mix was another unknown factor he couldn't account for.

"You want me right? Let her go and I'll come with you, kill me, enslave me, torture me, whatever you want."

"No, that's not how it works. Harlow was sent after you, and I was sent after her." Arla shot Harlow a glance.

"Of course, you weren't randomly targeted and I didn't target you just for your name, I mean you could've been a fan account. Someone else put us up to this, someone that thinks you'd be a problem down the road. You understand."

"Not sure I do." Harvey retorted.

Harlow pushed Elizabeth into Arla's hands and she grabbed her quickly putting her blade to her neck. Any move Harvey made would kill Elizabeth and they wouldn't hesitate. "It's me you want... not her, keep her out of this."

"I need her! My ticket out of this hellhole is in my grasp and you're crazy if you think I'm going to let it slip." Arla screamed out.

Arla was a problem. Harvey quickly noted that but before he could react, Harlow charged toward him with his great sword in hand." Make this easy for me and I might just consider letting her go!"

"Really?" Harvey laughed. "Well since you are all here, we might as well clear the floor-" Harvey pushed the door open and a large vacuum pulled them in, automatically starting the boss battle. "You said you couldn't beat it before right? You might've lied about the floor but I know for a fact you didn't make this part up."

Harlow grabbed his greatsword off the ground as the boss slowly emerged from the ground, "You've killed us all!"

"We'll all laugh about this in hell." Harvey equipped his daggers, watching Elizabeth slowly get up in his peripheral.

Arla made a move to capture Elizabeth but before she could move her hand, Harvey's thrown dagger stabbed into her hand. It disappeared shortly after and reappeared in his palm.

"Are you okay?" Harvey materialized a health potion in his hand and tossed it toward Elizabeth who came to his side.

"Sorry, I was too trusting... and weak. I shouldn't have gotten captured like that-" Elizabeth popped open the health bottle, drinking it fully.

"It's not your fault, it's nobody's fault... but they're a problem, one that I'll fix."

[Lv 15 Boss, TreeJake has noticed you]

Harvey pivoted, pushing Elizabeth aside as he skillfully leaped over a boss's swinging vine attack. Harlow and Arla rushed toward him, prompting a sigh from Harvey. Facing all three simultaneously seemed impossible, but he didn't need to. "You want me?"

Sprinting toward them, Harvey caught them off guard. Their confusion grew as Harlow glanced behind him, realizing the boss's attention had shifted from Harvey to the entire group. "Tch."

Employing an enforcement technique, Harlow absorbed a tree swing attack from the boss, gripping onto its vine. As Arla dashed forward for the finishing blow, the Treejake unexpectedly lifted its vine, hurling Harlow toward Arla.

"Form 1: Sun Splitter." Charging from behind Arla, Harvey plunged his swords into her petite form. Before the fiery effect of the form could take hold, she leaped backward.

A fireball spell, conjured by Elizabeth, interrupted Harlow's charge toward Harvey. Seeing her act, He was reminded of his earlier promise to her, one he changed on the fly. "I'm going to protect you."

The TreeJake redirected its focus to Harvey, launching multiple vines at him. Swiftly evading each attack, Harvey once again infused his blades with flames, assaulting the boss that teetered at half health, signaling the impending second phase.

Leaping backward to evade the shock wave marking the start of the second phase, Harvey noticed the absence of Harlow and Arla. Alarmed, he called out, "Elizabeth!" and turned around to witness Arla in a struggle with Elizabeth.

"I have a daughter! I'm not going to spend the rest of my life here! I will not let her die!" Arla screamed, persistently attempting to drive her knife into Elizabeth's chest.

Rushing towards Arla with his blades aimed at her neck, Harvey's strike was intercepted by Harlow. "Everyone has their reasons for doing what they do, and while our reasons might conflict."

"Kill me instead, stop her. I forced her to get on, I'm the reason she's here. There's no reason for her to be caught up in th—" Harvey's sentence was interrupted when he heard a thud on the floor.

It wasn't the boss, and it wasn't Harlow either. Harvey lowered his blades, slipping past Harlow to find Elizabeth on the ground, a blade in her chest, blood staining Arla who wore a sinister smile. "Elizabeth."

Harlow rushed from behind, catching Harvey off guard. Although Harvey dropped his sword, the boss intervened, striking him away before Harlow could land a blow.

Its second phase had started and Harlow knew better than anyone how strong it was, "I might not be the one to do it, but I doubt they'd mind. Bye Bye, Hajun The Condemned."

"Earth Magic: Earthen Collapse" Harlow swung his hand down and the rocks from above the floor began crashing down on both the boss and Harvey, Harvey had time to dodge but he couldn't move.

He should've never have picked up a video game, if he hadn't she'd still be alive... his parents would still be alive, "Elizabeth..."

"I love you."

Those were the last words he heard before the ceiling collapsed on him. He couldn't hear anything and he didn't want to, his head throbbed as tears streamed down his face. Fists clenched, he seethed with anger as rocks descended upon him, his eyes reddening with a burgeoning fury—a fury that marked the ominous birth of a monster.