Free Web NovelChapter 26: The Will
Smoke rose slowly from Gabriel’s small kitchen.
The apartment remained silent, except for the soft bubbling of the metal container resting on the electric stove. A dark, strange aroma began to spread through the air.
Hewatched the process attentively.
The night before, he had fallen unconscious as soon as he got home, leaving the coffee he had bought untouched. Now, after waking up several hours later, he finally decided to try that legendary drink.
He remembered the instructions that had been described in detail before making the purchase.
They weren’t particularly complicated.
He only needed to heat water, add the powder, wait, and strain it.
Apparently, entire generations of human beings had repeated that ritual every day.
It seemed absurd and curiously fascinating to him.
He finished straining the dark liquid and poured it into a simple cup.
Steam rose slowly. Gabriel brought the drink close to his face.
The aroma was intense, bitter, and strangely pleasant.
He took a small sip.
His expression twisted instantly.
"This is disgusting..."
He stared at the cup for a second.
Then he took another drink.
"I like it..."
He dropped into a chair while holding the hot cup between his hands.
The sensation was comforting.
Something he desperately needed after the past few days.
In front of him, the communicator projected dozens of floating windows.
Among news, forums, discussion channels, and viral posts.
Most were still talking about the earthquake. It was an unavoidable event.
A natural disaster of that magnitude wouldn’t disappear from public conversation in just a few days.
Gabriel ignored almost everything. ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com
Crazy theories always appeared when a tragedy occurred.
However, something different caught his attention.
The video game forums were exploding.
Hundreds of new threads appeared every hour. But most were garbage.
Some, however, were interesting.
Has anyone else noticed that the NPCs are acting weird since the last patch?
The irascible blacksmith in the Village completely changed his personality.
Is anyone else feeling like the NPCs are acting strange?
He began to read.
And he kept reading for nearly an hour.
Most of the information was useless. Players exaggerating, misinterpretations, common mistakes, and unverifiable stories.
But still... there were too many cases.
He focused on the small details and strange behaviors. There were unexpected responses, persistent memories, and complex emotions.
Gabriel eventually leaned back against the chair.
The coffee was already cold.
He let out an agonized sigh.
It didn’t prove anything, but he couldn’t ignore it either. Strange things were happening, and every day they seemed harder to hide.
His gaze involuntarily shifted toward a reflection on the screen.
The silver streaks were still there, motionless and silent.
Constantly reminding him that he wasn’t exactly normal either.
A long time ago, he had abandoned fear. Life had an efficient way of stripping that luxury from people.
When every day consisted of surviving, worrying about imaginary monsters lost its meaning.
But even he felt doubt, a certain unease gnawing at him. Because this time he wasn’t facing poverty, violence, or hunger.
He was facing something he didn’t even understand — something that completely escaped normal rules.
However...
Gabriel slowly closed all the holographic windows.
Fear had never solved any problem. Uncertainty even less so.
There was only one option, and he intended to follow it.
Move forward, act, and adapt.
Survive, as always.
He took the last sip of his cold coffee. Then he stood up and turned his gaze toward the neural helmet.
He stared at it for several seconds.
Finally, he smiled.
A small, resigned smile.
"I guess I don’t have many alternatives."
***
Darkness enveloped him.
The familiar sensation of transition ran through his consciousness.
And moments later, he opened his eyes again.
The world of The Heaven Above All appeared before him.
He immediately noticed something different. It wasn’t the environment, the lighting, or the sounds.
It was him and his perception.
The wind caressed the dusty streets of the village. Sunlight illuminated the wooden roofs.
In the distance, conversations could be heard.
Laughter, accompanied by the sound of hammers.
The occasional shouts of players arguing.
Everything seemed exactly the same. And yet... Gabriel observed every detail with a completely different level of attention.
For the first time, he wondered how many of those people were really NPCs and how many were players.
An old man walked slowly, leaning on a cane.
Two children ran after each other.
A woman argued with a merchant over the price of some vegetables.
They didn’t seem artificial, and that was precisely what made it unsettling.
Even after weeks inside the game, he still struggled to find any real differences.
He shook his head. There was no point obsessing over it.
There were more important matters.
He immediately opened his interface.
The rewards obtained after completing the Door were still waiting for him.
This time, he decided to examine them carefully.
First, a black ornate token appeared.
[Symbol of the Black Raven Order]
He read the description several times. But his expression turned disappointed.
Apparently, the item would only reveal its full functions once he left the Beginner Village.
Until then, it would remain practically sealed.
"Useless for now."
He moved on to the next reward.
This time it was the mysterious egg.
A dark sphere covered in reddish veins appeared in his inventory.
The description was brief.
[Synchronization locked.]
[Requirement: Level 15.]
Another item he couldn’t use.
He was starting to suspect the system enjoyed tormenting him.
"As expected."
Finally, he opened the last major reward.
His title.
[Blood Tempest]
His eyes slowly scanned the information.
And then they stopped.
His expression changed.
[You have survived the gaze of a God and intervened in the fate of the untouchable.]
[You have obtained the recognition of Potential Divine Herald.]
[Effect: +14% to all general talent. Slight resistance to divine or other mental control effects. Increased hidden fame among world factions.]
Gabriel remained motionless.
Divine Herald.
He had no idea what it meant, but he didn’t like it.
The memory of those eyes returned instantly.
The immensity, the voracity, and the absolute feeling of insignificance.
He could still remember and feel it.
He had not perceived compassion, wisdom, or protection.
Only hunger.
A hunger so gigantic it seemed capable of consuming entire worlds. That was not a God.
"They can keep the title."
He closed the window.
He had no interest in getting close to that.
If becoming a Divine Herald meant associating with beings like that, he preferred to stay as far away as possible.
His gaze dropped to his gear.
The jester mask still covered his face.
He took his dagger. The metal partially reflected his image.
For a moment, he observed his own eyes behind the mask.
Then his expression hardened.
This entire situation had taught him something.
A simple, brutal, and absolutely irrefutable lesson.
He was weak. Far too weak.
He had survived the Door through a combination of luck, desperation, and exceptional circumstances.
Next time, he might not be so fortunate.
The strange phenomena continued to accumulate.
The game was changing, the NPCs were changing, and the real world, apparently, was changing too.
And he remained trapped in the middle of it all. Without answers, control, or power.
He gripped the handle of the dagger tightly. The cold sensation of the metal ran through his fingers.
That had to change.
To avoid becoming a victim, he needed power. To avoid being consumed by incomprehensible forces, he needed to become his own refuge.
To avoid dying uselessly when the next catastrophe arrived...
The solution was simple. Level up and become stronger immediately.
As fast as possible.
His gaze swept across the village.
Players walked carelessly through the streets. Some argued, others traded, and many continued to completely ignore the changes happening around them.
Gabriel could no longer afford that luxury. The time for observing was over.
His expression became even more determined beneath the mask.
He opened the map and began to walk.
Without looking back.
Because if there was one thing he had learned from looking into the eyes of a god... it was that the weak had no right to choose their destiny.
