Trevor King wasn’t exactly employee of the month material. Delivering pizzas was supposed to be easy—show up, smile, hand over the food, and hope for a tip. But tonight, as usual, things weren’t going according to plan. “Apartment 3B,” Trevor muttered to himself, balancing the box of pepperoni and pineapple pizza on one hand while squinting at the building’s faded numbers. “Who orders pizza at 11 PM on a Tuesday?” He knocked on the door. No answer. Knocked again. Still nothing. “Seriously?” Trevor groaned, jabbing the doorbell repeatedly. The sound of muffled techno music leaked through the walls. “Come on, dude, I don’t have all night!” Finally, Trevor gave up and pushed the door open—it wasn’t locked. Inside was a cluttered, dimly lit apartment. Empty energy drink cans, potato chip bags, and stacks of unopened mail covered every surface. But what really caught his attention was the glow of a laptop sitting on the coffee table. The guy was sprawled out on the couch, snoring lou

Trevor stared at the glowing loot chest floating in front of him. “Do I really have to open this?” “Yes!” GL1TCH chirped, bouncing excitedly. “It could have something amazing inside! Like a legendary sword! Or magical armor!” “Or another frying pan,” Trevor muttered, crossing his arms. “Come on, Trevor! What’s the worst that could happen?” Trevor raised an eyebrow. “Did you forget I just fought a banana-flinging monkey and a cross-dressing Bandit Princess? My bar for ‘worst’ is already pretty low.” The chest shimmered, as if impatient. “Fine,” Trevor sighed, reaching for it. He braced himself as he lifted the lid. A bright light shot out of the chest, nearly blinding him. When it faded, he found himself holding... A chicken. Trevor blinked. “It’s a chicken.” The bird clucked and flapped its wings in annoyance, glaring at him as if offended by the entire situation. “Correction!” GL1TCH said, zipping around the chicken. “It’s a Heroic Companion Chicken! Look, it even has a n

Trevor walked back into the small, bustling town of Draethor, his legs sore from the goblin battle, and his mind still reeling from the strange series of events. Sir Clucksalot was happily perched on his shoulder, clucking every now and then as if gloating over its fiery victory. As they entered the town square, Trevor noticed the usual hustle and bustle of market stalls and townspeople haggling. But everything felt a little... off. Was it the weird clothes everyone was wearing? Or maybe it was just the fact that he was now a frying pan-wielding hero with a fire-breathing chicken companion. GL1TCH buzzed from his pocket. "Well, congratulations! You just slayed four goblins, got a mana crystal, and didn't die. That’s a pretty good first day on the job." “Right,” Trevor muttered, running his fingers through his hair. “Except I have no idea what I’m doing here, and now I have this ridiculous chicken on my shoulder that keeps catching fire. Who thought this was a good idea?” “You’re

Trevor sat cross-legged on the cold stone floor, staring at the Fragment of Ascension glowing faintly in his hand. The weight of it felt far heavier than it should, as though the fragment was aware of the destiny it carried. Across from him, Lyra paced back and forth, her leather armor creaking softly with every step. "So," Trevor began, breaking the silence. "How exactly does this thing work? Do I rub it like a genie lamp or—" "Don’t be stupid," Lyra interrupted, rolling her eyes. "The fragment doesn’t work on its own. You need all of them to activate the Ascension Gate." Trevor frowned. "And how many are there?" Lyra paused, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed. "Seven." "Seven?" Trevor groaned. "That’s a lot of running around for someone who’s still trying to figure out how not to die here." "Welcome to the system," Lyra said dryly. "It’s not exactly forgiving." Trevor sighed, tucking the fragment into his inventory. "Fine. So, where do we start?" Lyra smirked. "

The deal had been made, but the unease that followed it lingered in Trevor’s chest like a knot he couldn’t loosen. Zane had told them just enough to make them realize how dangerous this new mission could be, but not enough to fully trust him. After all, anyone who knew about the Heart of the Ancients had to be powerful—and more than a little dangerous. The Heart, Zane claimed, was located somewhere deep within the Emerald Caverns, a labyrinthine system of caves that ran beneath the city of Solace, a place no one dared to venture into for centuries. Trevor didn’t like the sound of that. He wasn’t sure if it was the vague threat in Zane’s voice or the fact that the man had seemed far too calm for someone who was supposed to be handing over an artifact with so much power. But they didn’t have much choice. As far as Trevor was concerned, the faster they retrieved this artifact, the sooner they could get back on track with their true goal: finding the remaining Fragments of Ascen