Music. Light and delicate melodies were being sung in the distance, over and over again. It was…strangely nostalgic.

Serenia’s eyes fluttered open. Where am I? She thought, as she sat up and observed her surroundings. There were trees all around her, enclosing the small clearing she was in like a fortress.

“Hello New Player, my name is-”

She turned her gaze to the sky. It was pure blue, with creamy cotton-candy-like clouds decorating its surface. And, partially-hidden behind those clouds was an unknown object. A large…floating castle?

“Excuse me…”

She shook her head to clear her thoughts. It wasn’t like her to be seeing things so early in the morning, but nevertheless, she had to get out of this place, whether it be a fragment of her dreams or not.

“…I said, LISTEN TO ME ALREADY!”

Serenia turned toward the voice, searching for its source. There was no one else in the clearing, apart from her and this weird bird-creature that is. It can’t be, right?

“Jeez, the new players are always so rude. You shout until your throat is sore and they still won’t listen.” the bird protested, flying down from its spot on a nearby tree and landing a short distance away from her.

Haha…a bird-thing is talking to me. I must be delusional. She thought, apparently out loud as the bird replied in response.

“Well, excuse me for being a ‘bird-thing’,” the creature said, with an element of annoyance, “but what is to be done is to be done.”

As it finished its sentence, it flew closer to her, hovering in mid-air. A projection of a rectangular box appeared on top of its head, with the words, “NPC: ???” listed.

“Hello, player [Serene]. Welcome to the world of Dark Eden. My name is Lullaby, and I am responsible for guiding new players to the Starting Village of the first continent, Nature’s Cradle.”

The words “Lullaby- Nature’s Cradle Starting Navigator” replaced the “???”.

“I know you may be confused, but please don’t worry, you will be reunited with other players soon. You may converse and sort things out then. But, if you haven’t read the instructions given in the beginning, I will repeat the rules again. One, you may not change your name and your class. Two, your starting gear and location has been randomized. Three, there will be no further guides after this. You, and the rest of the world, are on your own. With this said, please enjoy your journey in Dark Eden, and strive to become the best. After all, anything is possible here.”

Serenia stared at the NPC, and then gave her cheeks a hard pinch. It…hurt. The NPC chucked in amusement.

“Typical reaction, huh. It’s already the 4,901th time I’ve seen it today.”

It flew even closer, until its face was inches apart from hers.

“I assure you, that you are not dreaming. You pressed ‘Yes’ to the first question didn’t you?”

Serenia nodded, frozen in place by its cold and sinister gaze.

“Then, please do not disappoint us. It will be such a shame to die so fast after arriving in this world. After all, no matter how much Dark Eden reminds you of a Virtual Reality game, it is the new reality. Your reality and the only world that exists. There are no respawns, no revivals. Die here and you are dead for real. There is no way to “beat the game”, as so many new players often ask. But, this is a place where you can start fresh. And the only place where you are closest to the ultimate being...God himself.”

As it ended its sentence, it pointed one wing up to the sky, to the giant floating castle.

“Eternal Eden, the heavenly garden where God resides. The final continent of Dark Eden. The paradise lands, the only true utopia. He, who holds the key to the universe, is up there, waiting for you. Whatever you desire most, he could grant it…that is if you don’t die in the process of getting there. So, my dear adventurer, how will your story play out? Will you die trying? Or will you succeed in getting your wish? Or, will you overtake him, and become God yourself? The possibilities are limitless, and so without further ado, let your journey begin!”

There was a flash of light as Serenia disappeared into nothingness.

-----------------

Serenia re-appeared in mid-air, and then started falling straight into the fountain below.

“EEEEEHHH?” she shouted in confusion and fear, as she landed in the pool of water. The people around her stopped walking and stared.

“Woah, poor girl. Bad location to teleport into.” a person commented, shaking his head in pity.

“Hey, stop talking and help her already!” a woman beside him said, giving him a shove.

The woman extended a hand toward Serenia, smiling gently.

“My name is Lillian, and this is Tyrant. That is what we go by in here anyway. What is yours, my dear?”

Serenia paused, and then accepted her hand. “Serene.” she responded lightly, still slightly cautious of the strangers.

“Since the starting locations were randomized, I was lucky to meet up with someone I know from the real world so quickly upon arrival. Well…I guess this is now the ‘real world’, huh.” she added the last part after a moment of silence, and then continued, “If you don’t have anyone you know with you yet, you can come along with us. We can search for your friends together. This village seems to be very big, but there is a high chance that someone you know is here. It is pretty chaotic right now too, with everyone wandering around and panicking, so it may be best to move together in a group. What do you say?”

Serenia looked at the scene around her. People were rushing to different places frantically, some chattering amongst themselves in confusion. It was clear no one knew what to do. Without a proper guide and instructions, this situation was eerily uncomfortable to be in. Perhaps, it was best to join someone else and wait until things have settled down.

With that decided, she gave Lillian a nod. “How long have you two been here?” she asked, walking beside Lillian as she led the group away from the fountain.

“Just few hours ago, according to the clock near the fountain.” she replied, as they made their way out of the crowded plaza.

“And…has anyone found out anything about this place yet?”

“Not that we heard of. It seems that everyone is hopeless in terms of what to do next. Talking to the NPCs in the shops did not help. Apart from asking the player what they wished to purchase, they did not say anything else. And of course, the NPCs dressed like guards were no help either. I saw a group approach one earlier, and all they received in return was a ‘Welcome to Nature’s Cradle’. The Navigator was not kidding when it said there will be no guides in the game. Without any sort of guidance, there really is nothing we can do except wait and see what happens.”

“Has anyone tried venturing outside of the village yet?” Serenia asked, the unsettling feeling rising within her.

“Some tried. A few of them attempted to leave through a gate just a while ago, but the guards would not let them. We are stuck here. I don’t know that much about ‘games’ in general, but it may be that we are missing some sort of a hidden quest. And so far, we don’t know the prerequisites to it.”

Serenia thought about that for a bit, and then frowned.

“About the ‘classes’ we picked in the beginning, is there anything learned about those?”

“Well, we do know how to tell them apart. Although the starting gear is different for each person, the weapon is specific to each class. For example, I am a ‘mage’ because of my staff, and Tyrant is a ‘warrior’ because of the sword. For archers, you can tell by their bows, and for rogues…I guess the twin daggers you are carrying?”

Serenia looked down at the daggers hanging from her belt. It made sense.

“But, apart from that, we do not know anything else about our classes. No spells, no skills, no nothing. Our gears are merely decorations at this point. And-”

“Serenia!” a voice shouted in surprise, as a figure dressed in a long white dress came rushing toward the group. Lillian halted her speech as the figure jumped into Serenia’s arms.

“Galyn!” Serenia said, as she gave her sister a hug, “I’m so glad you are safe.”

“Me too…but have you seen Mother, Father, Jaakan and Haduwig yet?”

“No, not yet. I was hoping you might have been with them…”

Her sister’s eyes dimmed in sorrow, as she took a step back from Serenia, turning to face the others.

“Hello, my name is Galyn, but I am called ‘Lynn” here. Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too. I’m Lillian, and this is Tyrant. We met your sister, Serene, a while ago.”

Galyn smiled at the two of them, and Tyrant grumbled a greeting.

“If you wish to, you may join us. We are searching for people we know, and possibly looking for a way out of this village. According to the Navigator, we are on the first continent, so there may be people elsewhere…your family that you have mentioned included.”

Galyn gazed at her sister quietly before accepting. “Thank you. I’ll be in your care from here on.” she said eventually.

“We will be too. Now, let’s get going. There are lots of places in this village we haven’t searched yet.”

---------------

Time went by fast. All efforts of reuniting with friends and family were fruitless. Soon, the tired and dejected group made their way back to the central plaza. At the sound of their arrival, the groups nearby looked up, their eyes hopeful.

“Any news or discoveries?”

“Have you found a way out of here?”

“What about quests or some sort, any luck?”

People bombarded the group with question after question, and Lillian held up a hand, signaling for them to stop.

“No. We did not find anything.”

At this, the crowd became silent once again, as the atmosphere became heavy with dread. The people were hungry, tired and lost. No groups came back with anything to report, and at this rate, starvation was likely. Waiting was not a good choice, yet, what else could be done?

“Hey…look! The door to the Church is opening!”

Heads turned toward the elegant church a short distance away from the fountain. Indeed, the great white doors were opening.

“Announcing the arrival of the Grand Nature Sage!” the guards in front of the doors shouted, their voice echoing in the silent plaza.

An old man dressed in a pure white robe stepped out, holding a staff in the shape of a cross. The plaza was suddenly flooded with green light of all shades, reflecting in the pool and sky like many glittering emeralds. The groups that were still searching elsewhere in the village came rushing back, attracted by the weird glow coming from the public square.

“My name is Saffron, the Grand Sage and Guardian of Nature’s Cradle. I would like to, on the behalf of this village and our Lord in the sky, welcome all of you to your first night in Dark Eden. As many of you may now know, there is no way out of this village. Therefore, it is my duty to issue your first mission. Upon completion of this quest, you shall be allowed access to anywhere in Nature’s Cradle. You shall also be rewarded ‘Eden Seeds’, the currency of this world, and experience to help you reach higher levels, all according to your performance. Those that come back successfully with the requirements in the allotted time, shall be granted a decent meal and board in any of the hotels here for a whole week, by when you shall hopefully be able to continue on with your journey outside of this village. You shall also be able to activate and receive subsequent quests from other NPCs. But, this is all if you succeed. To those that fail to complete this mission, their data will be ‘terminated’.”

“Cut the trash talk, tell me how to get to that God guy’s place. I’m going to beat some sense into him and force him to send us all back home.” a man said, pushing others aside while drawing his sword, “And if you won’t say, I will make you spit it out with my sword.”

He rushed forward suddenly, leaving the crowd behind and charging toward the church, racing up the stairs. He roared, raising his sword over his head as he leaped into the air, preparing to bring it down on the Sage. The old man raised his staff, and the attacker was thrown backward into the crowd, landing with a loud thud. Then, in front of everyone’s eyes, his body twitched once before lying lifelessly on the ground. The crowd watched in horror as feathers appeared out of nowhere, surrounding the body before disappearing with it altogether.

“This is your first test. You may not refuse this mission. Those that pass are worthy to live. Those that do not are eliminated, just like that player a few moments ago. Running away in the middle of the mission is considered a forfeit, also punishable by ‘termination’. Your mission is to obtain as many ‘Wild Wolf Pelts’ as possible, with the minimum amount being 10. You have one hour to complete this mission, and must check in with the NPC that will be stationed in front of the fountain. You may team up, go alone, or do anything you wish as long as you return with 10 pelts. Acquire them by any means necessary. The remaining time and players will be displayed across the sky. With this said, I wish you luck. Let the [Night Hunting] begin!”

The gentle green light erupted into a deep, bloody red, as the timer in the sky began to count down. Then there were the screams. It was absolute chaos. People shoved each other aside as the gates leading out of the village opened.

“Hurry, we need to get going too!” Lillian shouted, waving Serenia and the others over to the mass of people, all trying to get out at once.

Serenia turned her head back, looking once more at the calm Sage before joining the rest of them.

Remaining time: 00:59

Terminations: 1

Remaining players: 5,147

Advance to Update 4: In the First Night…Vengeance shall sing >