As Leo stepped beyond the stone doors, the air grew heavier, thick with the scent of damp stone and something far older—a presence that did not belong to the living. The torches that had lined the upper ruins did not extend into this place. There was only darkness, stretching endlessly before him like the open maw of a beast waiting to consume him whole.
Then—
The doors behind him slammed shut.
Leo spun around, his heart lurching. The stone doors that had led him here sealed themselves, the runes on their surface dimming as if they had never been lit at all. He reached out, pressing a hand against the cold surface, but there was no response.
He was trapped.
A new system notification blinked into existence before him.
[You have entered the Trial Grounds – The Veilborn Depths.]
[All external influences have been disabled.]
[Your trial begins now.]
Leo exhaled, shaking off the rising tension. Alright. No turning back now.
With no other choice, he pressed forward.
The corridor was silent, save for the faint sound of his footsteps. Every now and then, he thought he heard something else—a whisper, the scrape of movement far off in the dark—but when he turned, there was nothing there.
The deeper he went, the colder it became. The walls around him, once carved stone, became rough and twisted, as though the ruin itself had been warped by time. Strange symbols were etched into the rock, their patterns unlike anything he had ever seen before. They pulsed with a faint, eerie glow, flickering like dying embers.
And then, up ahead—
A chamber.
It was a vast, circular space, lined with pillars that had long since begun to crumble. In the center, resting atop a stone pedestal, was a shard of something ancient, glowing with a soft blue light.
Leo's breath caught.
"The Ancient Shard of Remembrance… This must be it."
The moment he took a step forward, however—
The air shifted.
A low growl reverberated through the chamber.
Leo stopped dead in his tracks.
From the shadows beyond the pedestal, something moved.
A guardian.
A hulking form emerged from the darkness, its body composed of shifting black mist and jagged fragments of stone. Its eyes burned with an unnatural silver light, and its presence alone made the very air shudder around it.
Leo's pulse spiked. He instinctively stepped back, his mind racing.
"Of course, there's a boss."
A new notification appeared.
[Trial Guardian: The Veilborn Sentinel]
[Type: Ancient Construct]
[Threat Level: Unknown]
The Sentinel did not speak, did not hesitate—it simply moved.
In an instant, the chamber was filled with a roaring wind, as the creature lunged forward, a massive stone arm swiping toward Leo with terrifying speed.
Leo barely had time to react. He dove to the side, rolling across the stone floor as the Sentinel's attack obliterated the ground where he had just been standing.
"Holy—!"
This thing was fast.
Leo scrambled to his feet, his breathing sharp. He had no weapon, no armor—nothing. And yet, he was expected to fight this thing?
The Sentinel didn't give him time to think. It moved again, its massive form shifting unnaturally, its mist-like body making it impossible to predict. Another swing—faster this time.
Leo ducked, but the shockwave of the attack sent him flying. He hit the ground hard, the impact rattling his bones.
Pain flared in his ribs.
"This is insane."
He gritted his teeth, pushing himself up.
This wasn't a normal game fight. There were no visible HP bars, no damage indicators. The Sentinel didn't have attack patterns he could exploit—it was reacting naturally, like a real creature.
Leo clenched his fists. If I don't figure something out, I'm dead.
The Sentinel charged again, its mist-like body shifting unnaturally, making it impossible to predict its exact movements.
Leo dodged—barely. He could feel the force of the attack as it passed by, the air itself trembling under the sheer power.
"Think, Leo, think."
He had always been good at adapting to games, at understanding their mechanics. But this wasn't a normal game.
This world had rules of its own.
And in this world…
"A name is power."
The Sentinel was unlike anything he had faced before. Towering and clad in obsidian armor, its form radiated an ethereal glow, its faceless helm concealing whatever force resided within.
It wielded a massive greatsword, every swing shattering the air itself with crushing force. Even though this was a game, Leo swore he could feel the impact in his very soul.
The Arbiter wasn't just a boss. It was a test.
And Leo was losing.
Every attack from the guardian disrupted his form, scattering his slime-like body before he could fully reform. He had no real offensive power, and his normal evasive tactics weren't enough.
But he refused to give up.
Then, he remembered—this wasn't a normal game.
Instead of trying to dodge normally, Leo did something unconventional. When the Arbiter's greatsword came down, he let his slime body split apart, reforming behind it instead of taking the full brunt of the hit.
He noticed that the Sentinel's swings caused shockwaves—but those shockwaves only traveled across solid surfaces. If he could time it right, he could launch himself into the air using the force of the blows.
The first time, he barely managed to do it.
The second time, he used the impact to slingshot himself behind the boss, avoiding its retaliation.
He realized that the Ancient Shard of Remembrance wasn't just an item—it pulsed with energy.
In a last-ditch effort, he absorbed the shard into his core, hoping it would grant him some kind of edge.
The moment he did, his body resonated—and the Arbiter hesitated for the first time.
The Shard's energy reacted to his presence, unleashing a final burst of power that destabilized the guardian.
With the Sentinel momentarily weakened, Leo lunged, enveloping part of its form within his shifting mass. Using all his strength, he compressed his body, forcing the guardian to collapse under its own weight.
Then—silence.
The Sentinel's form flickered, then kneeling before him. The trial was complete.
And then, something even stranger happened.
The energy from the Shard didn't fade. It entered him.
Before Leo could fully process what was happening, the Arbiter spoke.
"You have endured. You have adapted. But survival alone is not enough. You are incomplete."
A pulse of golden and abyssal light surrounded him. His very essence felt like it was shifting, evolving into something greater.
"From this moment forth, you are no longer an unnamed wanderer."
The Arbiter raised a hand.
"You shall be known as… Nyxaris."
A shockwave pulsed outward. A system-wide announcement flashed across the entire game.
[World Announcement]
A player has been Named! The first in Evolvera Online's history!
[Nyxaris] has been granted a True Name!
For a moment, the world stood still. Then, the global chat exploded.
Global Chat:
— "WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!"
— "A player got named?! That's an NPC mechanic!"
— "How did a player get a True Name?! What kind of quest was this?!"
— "Nyxaris… that name sounds insane."
— "Where did this happen? Someone track him down!"
Leo—Nyxaris—exhaled as the energy settled.
Then, another notification appeared.
[Skill Acquired: Adaptation]
A dormant ability unique to Named beings. Grants gradual growth, allowing the user to develop resistances and minor enhancements based on their experiences. Its full potential remains unknown.
This wasn't an instant power-up. He wasn't suddenly overpowered.
But now, he had something far more valuable—a path to real growth.
As the last remnants of golden mist faded, the Arbiter's voice echoed one last time.
"With a Name comes responsibility. Your journey has only just begun, Nyxaris. The Veilborn watch your path with interest."
Leo clenched his shifting, amorphous hand, feeling the new potential stirring within him.
This wasn't just a game anymore.
This was only the beginning.