Vrrr—! Vrrr—!
The cell phone in my pocket vibrated.
[Global Emergency Alert]
[Crimson Rifts have appeared in multiple regions across the globe. Citizens are advised to stay indoors and await further instruction.]
The Crimson Rifts wasn't isolated to Philippines. Thousands of Crimson Rifts appeared simultaneously across the globe.
[Breaking News: "Crimson Rifts" Spotted Worldwide!]
[Global Panic Spreads as Earth Opens Beneath Our Feet!]
[Apocalypse? Supernatural? Cosmic Event? Scientists Baffled.]
I didn't need scientists to tell me what it was. The Crimson Rift wasn't a freak event or celestial coincidence.
It was the grand signal of Ignil, the Warden of the Abyss.
And today, he was watching.
The sky turned dark red. Thunder rolled like groaning steel. Then, the clouds split apart like paper being torn.
Descending from the storm was a being draped in robes of flowing black ash, its face hidden beneath a visor of molten iron, eyes glowing like twin furnaces.
[I am Veydril, Keeper of the Depths. Herald of the Warden. Bear witness.]
Its voice vibrated in my bones more than my ears.
[The Crimson Rift is now open. The Labyrinth has awakened.]
One of them appeared simultaneously at every sinkhole to explain the situation.
[Every Crimson Rift is a gateway to the Labyrinth. You must descend. You must endure. Or your world will fall.]
People around me screamed or dropped to their knees. But I just watched.
[You all need to enter the Crimson Rifts and clear the Labyrinth. Starting from the 1st floor all the way to the 100th floor!]
[If the first floor is not cleared within 20 days, Earth will be judged unworthy.]
And then, there it was. Burned into my vision like a curse:
[Time Until Planetary Collapse: 20 days 00:00:00]
[You see the time in front of you, right? That's a countdown marking the end of Earth. If you can't clear the 1st floor within 20 days, the Crimson Rifts across the world will release a supernova instantly annihilating this planet.]
Everything shifted. My sight. My balance. Even the air tasted different—charged, metallic, like a storm had sunk its teeth into the atmosphere.
[Do not fear. You will not walk the Labyrinth as you are. 'Astral Patrons' shall descend. They will choose champions. Power will be granted.]
That line, more than anything else, broke the world.
Not the threat.
Not the timer.
But the promise.
A thousand deities whispering, looking for playthings. Selling hope like candy, with annihilation as the wrapper.
They called it "awakening."
Most didn't realize they were just trading chains.
But I'd seen the chains before. I'd worn them.
I knew better.
[You will hear the voices soon. One may choose you. If chosen, you will awaken.]
[Let the Warden watch. Let the game begin!]
And then Veydril vanished. The sky closed behind it like a sealed tomb.
[Time Until Planetary Collapse: 19 days, 23 hours, 59 minutes, 59 seconds]
The Crimson Rift before me pulsed with heat—inviting. Hungry.
[You may now enter the Labyrinth.]
The red sky returned to normal, but the internet erupted into a chaos.
└What is this timer in my vision?
└I saw something step out of the Rift. It wasn't human.
└We're all gonna die.
└Anyone else hear a voice whispering in their sleep?
└I guess we need to quickly clear the Labyrinth to stop the end of the world.
└But how do we get chosen by an Astral Patrons
└I don't know?
Anyone who directly saw and heard it had no choice but to believe it, but many people were asleep at the time, so it took a moment for the news to sink in.
'They'll soon understand that this isn't some funny prank'
I walked to the edge of the Crimson Rift, and I jumped.
***
[You have entered the 1st Floor of the Labyrinth.]
[ Quest Type: Extermination ]
[ Requirement: None ]
[ Objective: Eliminate 100 Vile Sludges ]
[You cannot exit this floor until the objective is complete.]
After falling down through an endless abyss, I found myself in a new environment.
I landed hard on broken stone, surrounded by twisted roots and gray mist.
This was the Murkwood Vale. A rotting forest full of ooze-like creatures that devoured light and spat acid. They were weak. But if you didn't know how to fight them, you'd die fast.
Good thing I remembered everything.
The first one squelched toward me—nothing more than a dripping sack of rot.
I picked up a handful of dry gravel, rolled it in my palm, and hurled it into its core.
Fsshht—CRACK!
It froze mid-charge. I crushed it under my boot.
[Vile Sludges Defeated: 1/100]
I didn't stop. One after another, I broke them down.
They didn't scare me.
I'd seen worse.
I was worse.
Then came the first whisper.
[Astral Patron 'Whisperfang, Shadowblade of the Third Moon' offers you a Vassal Pact.]
[You have been chosen to become the Mastermind Assassin's Vassal. Accept? Y/N]
I declined without hesitation by pressing 'N'
[Offer Declined.]
'I do not want a Patron. Not yet. Until I get the Astral Patron I wanted, I will keep on grinding up'
Before my regression, I also hadn't taken any offers. Not only did I have little knowledge of Astral Patrons back then, but I also had no will to live.
So when the voices started whispering, offering power, promising survival, I didn't flinch.
Why would I care about becoming someone's chosen?
'Instead of breaking myself trying to save a world that never cared, I figured it was simpler to just watch it burn. Being a bystander hurt less than false hope ever did.'
Fear held me back. The unknown of becoming someone's Vassal, the risk, the change—I turned down every offer, not out of principle, but because I was terrified.
I wasn't brave. I was just scared of everything.
Now that I understood the system, fear no longer had a grip on me. But back then? I was a spineless wreck—too scared to act, too scared to hope.
'Funny how being a coward turned out to be the smartest thing I ever did.'
My relentless refusals didn't go unseen. Eventually, even the gods took interest.
'I can't afford to sit around waiting after shutting them all down.'
I wasn't going to wait for a handout. If I wanted the Astral Patron I desired, I had to make my mark.
And there was no better way to do that than by clearing that damn Labyrinth on my own. No powers, just me.
"It's time to clear this place, and I'm going to do it faster than anyone thought possible."