(I) Legendary Artifact

Deep within the frozen mountain range, a magnificent monastery towered above the mountaintops as an unrelenting blizzard raged.

A hooded figure, wearing thick fur pelts and with his hands covered with massive metallic claws, dashed through the snow towards the unsuspecting orthodox knights who stood guard around the perimeter.

The figure's beast-like eyes glared out from under a black scarf covering the bottom half of his face. With incredible agility, he flipped through the air, grabbing one of the knights by the head and twisting it, killing him. Simultaneously, he threw the knight's body, knocking over two other men.

"Gah!" One of the knights grunted, pushing the dead man off of his body. Before he could get up, a massive black panther appeared from the figure's forearm and pounced on him, biting his neck and killing him instantly.

"What the?!" The other knight shouted, drawing his sword; the hooded figure appeared behind him, grabbing his head as he jammed a curved dagger with a wicked blade into the gap in his armor. A shadow dashed from his back, flying from underneath his fur cloak as a massive hawk took to the skies, high above.

The young man's eyes glowed brightly, emitting a golden light as he briefly accessed the vision of his avian companion, searching for a lapse in the guard patrolling the top of the monastery.

"Zoe." He said, placing his fingers against his ear underneath his hood, "I've arrived, the intel was correct, there is a monastery here."

"Good work, Marcus!" She replied excitedly, "I'll update the Information Café! Get in there and look for that Legendary Artifact!"

Marcus rushed towards the panther as it sprinted towards the monastery. He hopped on the beast's back and pressed his body against its massive, lean muscles as it jumped onto the side of the tower and ran up it.

The falcon circled above the monastery before diving down and picking up a knight as he screamed in terror. It lifted him effortlessly before dropping him from hundreds of meters to his death.

"I can't let these ruthless, massive guilds win yet again..." He muttered, struggling to force the rising anger inside him down as he recalled how corporations ruined everything, enslaving nearly everyone while betraying the players.

The hooded man and the giant panther leaped over the ledge where the knight stood moments before. Marcus recalled his companions as the two beasts dashed back onto his body, returning to their former tattoos on his skin.

The dimly lit monastery hallways were quiet as the hooded figure moved silently through the shadows. His footsteps were barely audible as he made his way towards the grand cathedral at the center of the monastery.

As he slipped inside, the grandeur of the cathedral was breathtaking. The ceiling was high, and the walls were adorned with intricate religious paintings. In the center of the room, Marcus saw an elderly priest standing before a large throne.

The priest was holding an intricately decorated crozier and was giving orders to a group of knights. Marcus took a moment to scan the room before melding with the shadows. He reappeared from the priest's shadow, holding his wicked dagger at the elder's neck.

The priest was taken aback and exclaimed, "Wha-wha-what?!?"

The knights jumped to attention, drawing their weapons as they pointed them at Marcus. However, the hooded figure was quick to threaten the priest, the cold tip of his blade pressed against the Archbishop's neck, and a drop of blood trickled down as he said, "Old man, tell your men to drop their weapons or it'll be your head."

"You disgusting dog of The Empire!" The priest spat angrily. He glared at the knights before raising his hand casually, signaling them to stand down. The guards shared glances before nodding and lowering their weapons.

"Thank you for your services, Archbishop." Marcus smirked as he reached into the elder's robe, ripped an ornate pendant out, and pushed him forward.

"Kill him!!" The bishop shouted as he rolled onto his back, pointing at him. The knights rushed forward, weapons raised, but the hooded figure vanished again into the shadows, fleeing the cathedral.

The blaring sound of the alarm echoed through the hallways as he sprinted towards a colossal door that seemed impenetrable. The door was devoid of any visible handles or knobs. The clanging of his armor filled the air as he charged towards it.

He inserted the pendant into the small hollow in the intricately designed door, causing loud mechanisms to sound from within the walls. The door began to open slowly, and dust fell from it, revealing that it had not been opened in a long time.

At that moment, Zoe's voice sounded in his ear, "You need to hurry! I can see a large group of people approaching the monastery!"

Suddenly, a voice behind him yelled, prompting Marcus to turn around and face the group of knights. "Halt!" The voice commanded. "Surrender now or die!!!"

"Heh!" The hooded man chuckled, raising his hands in surrender. The double doors behind him clanked loudly as they completely opened, and a faint ticking could be heard behind him.

He slowly backstepped inside; a man in front of the knights barked, "Don't do anything stupid, boy!"

Marcus could feel the eyes of the knights on him, watching him suspiciously as they slowly approached. He knew that he had to act fast. Without warning, he smirked and jumped back, throwing his arms forward.

Suddenly, four massive beasts erupted from his body, filling the hallway and blocking the knights' path. The beasts were like nothing the knights had ever seen before.

An enormous alligator leaped from Marcus' left forearm, running along the wall before launching at a knight, biting him in half. The alligator then swung its tail, knocking away two more knights.

A giant gorilla jumped off his right arm, its massive frame towering over the knights. It raised its forearms and pounded on its chest, blocking three spears with its thick black fur. The gorilla then picked up one of the knights, swung him above its head, and smashed him against a group of knights, knocking them down.

A rhino appeared next, rushing past the gorilla as it charged into the squadron, sending all of them crashing against the walls as it stampeded through them.

Lastly, Marcus's huge panther reappeared, leaping off the walls onto the ceiling and pouncing on a lone knight. The panther slashed the knight's protective armor before tearing out a large chunk of him.

The beasts crashed against the knights one final time before vanishing as they returned to Marcus. He grabbed the pendant and disappeared as the doors closed behind him.

He pulled his hood back, revealing his shaggy black hair with white highlights. He pulled down the facemask and unveiled his handsome face as he approached the sizeable glowing sarcophagus in the center of the room, which had a divine light surrounding it.

He rubbed his hands together, grinning wide as his eyes were fixated on the large stone box. He placed his hands against the lid, pushing it open as it smashed to the ground, echoing around the empty room.

Inside the sarcophagus was a black book with silver glyphs drawn on the cover, a giant purple crystal, and a small vial of silver liquid sitting on top of a massive pile of gold.

Suddenly, the monastery shook as explosions erupted all around, indicating the start of the invasion from the Akashik Empire.

Marcus placed the three items into his inventory before logging out of The World Online and returning to his small one-bedroom apartment in New York City.

His eyes opened from within the pod, a faint light illuminating the gel-like interior. He pressed the button with a massive grin on his face, and the pressure equalized. Air hissed when the lid opened.

"Oh, those idiot corporate executives are going to be losing their minds trying to search for me!" He chuckled, exiting the pod as the lights turned on.

"Urk!" Marcus groaned, blood spurting out of his mouth as he looked down, his eyes widening in horror as he stared at the tip of a blade piercing his chest.

"Ya know…" A voice hissed, pulling the blade out from his chest. The young man spun around and stumbled backward, clutching his chest as he stared at the man in a suit and sunglasses, "I don't think we had that much trouble finding you."

"H-How..?" He asked, sputtering blood as he clutched his chest, staring up at the clean-cut visage of the grinning man.

"Did you honestly think our benefactors didn't have access to everyone's information?" He laughed, grabbing his forehead and shaking his head, "You should have known better than to decline our offers of cooperation."

Marcus groaned as he fell to the ground, his vision starting to blur as another man approached, handing the man a cell phone, "Yeah?"

"Do you want us to bring him in dead or alive?" He asked, nodding occasionally before maliciously grinning as he hung up the phone. He approached the young man and knelt before him, "I hate to break it to ya kid, but they don't even want the artifact anymore... just your head."

'These bastards would kill over a video game..?' He thought, incredulous over the idea as his vision slowly faded to black. He felt his mind slipping away, unable to feel his body to anchor him.

He tried to open his eyes but couldn't. Maybe his eyes were already open, and there wasn't a single speck of light; he couldn't tell. Suddenly, a voice called out, "Young Lord!"