THE GILDED LEGEND (Enternity Online)

Chapter 7 The Forgotten Ruins

"Access Denied, Intruders!" The Operator’s voice thundered, tearing through the audio frequencies within Axel's consciousness.

The giant digital eye in the sky emitted a pulse of black energy that slammed into the floor of the secret chamber. Axel grabbed Zara, pulling her back as a data explosion shattered the stone table before them. Simultaneously, the roaring alarm from the VR pod in the real world grew louder, a physical danger warning that sent Axel’s adrenaline spiking to a boiling point.

"Axel! The connection is unstable! Someone hacked my home security protocols!" Zara screamed in panic, her hands shaking as she tried to access the force logout command. "The exit button is locked from the outside! We’re trapped!"

Axel gritted his teeth, feeling the air pressure suddenly increase a thousandfold. Liam Fury. That bastard actually attacked while I was logged in.

"Don't force it, Zara! If you force a neural disconnect now, you could fry your brain!" Axel gripped Zara’s shoulder, his eyes fixed on the digital eye in the sky. "Gilded System! Reroute neural integrity to backup! Buy us time!"

[WARNING: Physical integrity in the real world is threatened. Initiating Consciousness Isolation Protocol. Transferring unit to: Aethelgard Forbidden Area.]

Instantly, their vision went white. An overwhelming wave of nausea hit Axel’s stomach. His world spun, tossed between lines of chaotic code, before everything finally went completely dark.

**

Two days had passed since the incident at the Crypt of Silence. Thanks to the Gilded system’s isolation protocol, Axel and Zara successfully vanished from the public server radar, but the price they paid was steep. They were now on the border of the Forgotten Aethelgard Ruins, a territory officially erased from the maps of ordinary players.

Axel walked haltingly, his leather tunic now covered in dried bloodstains and archaic dust. The wound on his back, a result of data friction during the forced transfer, stung every time he moved. The pain was 90 percent real, piercing all the way to his physical nerves out there.

"We’ve walked this far, but this place is endless," Axel muttered. His voice was hoarse. Beside him, Zara looked physically better, but her face was pale from extreme mental exhaustion.

"The energy anomaly is behind that rocky hill, Axel," Zara replied, staring at her cracked analyzer device. "Two days without rest... your Gilded system is completely draining your body’s glucose reserves. If we don’t find that altar soon, you’ll collapse in the real world."

"I can still hold on," Axel replied stubbornly.

They climbed a pile of ancient building debris that was unnaturally floating in the air. The sky in this region was dark purple, with occasional flashes of static lightning. At the end of the path stood a giant stone gate guarded by a creature Axel had never seen in ten years of playing Eternity.

Ancient Sentinel. The five-meter-tall creature was made of solid obsidian with glowing gold streaks across its body. Its hands gripped a giant mace that radiated a heavy gravitational aura.

"Its level... is undetected," Zara whispered fearfully. "Axel, retreat! Your Agility Stat won't be enough to penetrate its defenses!"

"I don't have a choice!" Axel shot forward.

[Gilded Agility: Overdrive!]

Axel turned into a golden streak slicing through the air. He tried to use his usual tactic, employing pure speed to confuse the opponent. However, as he approached, the Sentinel slammed its mace into the ground.

CRASH!

A gravitational wave exploded, canceling all acceleration effects. Axel was thrown back like a ragdoll. His body slammed into a stone pillar so hard that the sound of cracking bone was audible.

"Argh!" Axel spat out red fluid. His vision blurred. He tried to get up, but his legs felt paralyzed.

The Sentinel stepped forward slowly but surely. Every stride made the ground tremble. Its giant mace was raised high, ready to crush Axel’s head into digital dust.

"Axel! To your left! There’s a data fragment leaking from that pillar!" Zara shouted. Her hand quickly drew her bow, releasing a series of distraction arrows toward the Sentinel’s eye. "Touch the fragment! Use my analysis, now!"

Axel crawled with the last of his strength, his fingertip touching a glowing gold crack in the pillar ruins. That instant, a hot sensation flowed through his veins.

[ARCHAIC FRAGMENT FOUND: MEMORY OF THE FIRST BLADE.]

[GILDED POINT ACQUIRED: 1]

"Strength Stat! Put it into Strength!" Zara shouted again, her eyes constantly monitoring the monster’s attack pattern. "It has anti-speed armor, but its neck joint is vulnerable to pure physical pressure! Hit it exactly when it swings the mace!"

Axel didn't hesitate. He opened his status panel with a trembling motion and allocated the precious point to the strength attribute.

[GILDED STRENGTH: PHASE 1 ACTIVATED.]

Axel felt the muscles in his arms pulsing intensely, as if liquid concrete were hardening inside them. The pain from the previous impact seemed erased by an overwhelming surge of energy.

The Sentinel swung its mace down. Axel did not dodge. He raised his left hand, holding back tons of weight with a single arm, while his right hand gripped the dagger that now shone brightly.

"My turn," Axel growled.

With a single powerful leap that shattered the stone floor beneath his feet, Axel launched upward. The Sentinel tried to grab him, but Zara released a binding arrow that wrapped around the monster’s wrist for one crucial second.

"Now!" Zara yelled.

Axel plunged his dagger directly into the gap of the Sentinel’s neck joint. Not with speed, but with pure destructive force that surpassed his level’s logic.

CRACK!

The obsidian shattered. Gold light exploded from within the monster’s body, devouring everything within a ten-meter radius. The giant Sentinel crumbled into pieces, turning into a stream of data that flowed into Axel and Zara simultaneously.

Axel fell to his knees, his breath ragged. He stared at his still-trembling hands. That strength... it wasn't just a number. He could feel it in the muscles of his arms in the real world.

"We ... we did it!" Zara rushed to him, immediately checking Axel’s condition with a worried face. "You’re badly hurt, Axel. We need to find a safe place immediately."

"Look at that." Axel pointed toward the ruins of the Sentinel.

There, a magnificent circular altar began to emerge from beneath the ground. It was surrounded by eight interconnected pillars of light, forming a highly complex geometric pattern. In the center, a sphere of pure gold energy spun quietly.

[ACCESS GRANTED: GILDED FUSION ALTAR.]

They walked toward the altar. Strange whispers began to fill Axel’s mind, like thousands of lines of code attempting to speak in human language.

"This is the place," Zara whispered, her eyes sparkling at the marvel before them. "The Fusion feature mentioned in the data... it’s here."

Axel reached out his hand toward the energy sphere. As soon as his fingertip touched the gold surface, a new system window appeared, covering his entire view. The window was pitch black with a pulsing gold frame, far more elegant and sinister than the usual interface.

[WELCOME TO THE SECOND STAGE OF EVOLUTION.]

[ARE YOU READY TO UNITE SOUL AND DATA? THIS PROCESS CANNOT BE CANCELED AND WILL PERMANENTLY ALTER YOUR BIOLOGY.]

[INITIATE GILDED FUSION: YES / NO]

Axel turned toward Zara. At the same time, in the distance, he saw a shadow he knew well standing on the hilltop, watching them with a sinister smile visible beneath his mage’s robe. Liam Fury had managed to track them even here.

"Liam is here," Axel said coldly.

"Then there’s no turning back," Zara replied, gripping Axel’s arm tightly. "Do it, Axel. Before he ruins everything."

Axel pressed the [YES] button.

Instantly, the entire world around them shook violently. Light from the altar exploded into the sky, tearing through Aethelgard’s purple heavens. Axel felt his body begin to lift, and a pain more intense than before began to burn every cell in his body. Yet, amidst the agony, he heard a system voice that was profoundly different—a voice that sounded like a human he knew very well.

"Congratulations, Ghostwalker! You have just opened a gate that should have remained closed."