Illusions, Lies, Truth - Volume 3, Chapter 5: Ceremony of the Devil, Part 3—Fallen

The empire encompassed endless twinkling stars, but in this dark and terrifying distant future, there were only endless wars.......Gu Hang became the governor of a wasteland planet, where previous governors had all been executed for failing to deliver the tithe on time.Monsters and Low Energy Storms rampaged, survivor factions schemed against each other, technological regression, low productivity, the resurgence of Evil Gods, Green Skin Orcs taking root and sprouting...“Don't panic just yet, let me check the panel below.”[Military Tokens], [Heroes], [Technology], [Events]...Starting as the planetary governor, he would build fleets that traversed the Star Sea, suppressing all alien forms, heretics, traitors, and demons of chaos!Although I formed battle groups on my own, funded Battle Nuns, diverted the imperial tax, and disregarded deployment orders... I knew I was fiercely loyal!Traitors? This is clearly the Third Empire!

Zhang Yang, the office drone, spent his days slacking off with the campus beauty and his nights watching his sister-in-law practice leg lifts. His girlfriend Xiao Man watched him every day, falling deep in thought... Until one day, while straddling Zhang Yang, she unleashed a soul-searching interrogation, “Why did the dean bow to you? Why did the richest man gift you a villa? Why did the tattoo-covered big brother kneel before you, begging you to take his wife?”

As a wandering soul trapped in endless cycles of reincarnations, Claus must decide what to do in his current life.

The smell of blood invaded my nostrils. I watched helplessly as the woman standing over me raised her sword. I was completely drained, I had no mana left, no items, nothing. As the crimson tendrils held me down by my arms and legs, all I could do was wait for my death.

As the sword drew near, I felt the last bit of courage I had disappear. I was going to die. Alone. In this god forsaken place filled with evil. And for what? To protect those ‘friends’? The same people who mocked me, took advantage of, and used me?

Oh, who am I trying to fool? I was here only because of my own greed. Because I wanted to be useful to someone. Because I wanted to that group to need me. To value me. To have a reason to keep me around. How naïve I was, thinking that power would grant those wishes. All it did was help build a wall between me and everyone else.

The sword approached. I saw the purple light reflect off the sword’s blade. After everything I went through, I hadn’t expected my death to be by the hands of another player. I saw her smile, but this time I didn’t think it was beautiful. It was an ugly smile because it was genuine. She was enjoying watching me die. She was enjoying killing me.

The sword struck my chest and pierced my heart. I let out a scream of pain and agony. The pain was so real, all of this was so real. It shouldn’t be, but it was. What should have been a simple game had become my new reality – all of our new reality. A reality filled with magic, war, blood, and death.

My vision darkened as the pain slowly faded. I felt the last of my vitality leave my body. It felt cold. I wondered to myself, when would I stop being? When would my thoughts disappear?

Soon, I saw those words I feared for all this time appear before me. “DEATH”, in the pale blue font the game always used. They remained suspended in the air for several seconds. It was over. After a long time of fighting, grinding, and exploring, it was finally over. I had died. This was the end of my story.

Suddenly, words before me shifted and changed into something different. I took a shallow breath as I heard a faint heartbeat.

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