Chapter 2: Chapter 2 - Into the Shroud (Edited)
Thousand Years have passed since the Great War that scarred the fabric of the universe.
Now, in 2023, on a distant blue planet called Earth, civilization has flourished. In the heart of a bustling city, amidst towering buildings of concrete and steel, an old, forsaken building stands.
Inside, Liam, a young man with jet-black hair and piercing blue eyes, finds himself in a peculiar predicament, his wrists tightly bound by ropes as he is tied inside a dark room.
Straining his eyes, Liam focused, trying to learn where he was now.
Drip... Drip...
But even after a few minutes, only the sound of water dripping could be heard. He then cursed. "Well, this is just great. What a brilliant way to spend my birthday."
Taking a deep breath, he tried to steady himself, piecing together the events that led to his current situation. He remembers walking back to his dormitory, looking forward to a peaceful evening.
Thud...
Out of nowhere, a sharp pain struck the back of his head.
The pain reminds him that someone has hit his head, knocking him out. "Right, someone ambushed me. But why?"
Liam then starts to think hard. People he knows from the university, his classmates, or Professor, did he offend any of them?
Did any of them have a grudge with him? Did he do something wrong?
But no matter how hard he tries, he cannot think who the culprit is.
Since he failed with 'Who?', he then tried to think, 'Why?''
Why would someone want to kidnap him?
He has some money, but it's not that much.
He doesn't have any debt, nor does he have anything precious.
As his mind raced, he then remembered a memory from a few years ago. Liam thinks it's possible if that is the reason, but he has to take many precautions.
He has kept a low profile. Heck, they are even in different countries now, separated by thousands of kilometers.
Pondering further, Liam thought, "Could this be a case of mistaken identity?"
Liam is almost a typical college student. He goes to lectures taking assignments and exams. With some occasional nights with friends.
But as he's keeping a low profile, he barely goes to any parties. He usually spends his weekends reading old books from his father's collection.
Then, as he thinks again, He remembers just this morning, he got a mysterious package from his father.
The weird part is that his father has been missing for so many years.
Liam barely remembers him now.
Inside the package is a beautiful quartz crystal etched with intricate patterns that seemed to shimmer and change when viewed from different angles.
Liam remembered being mesmerized by its beauty and the mysterious aura it exuded. 'Could the crystal be the reason?'
Liam shook his head, muttering, "It couldn't be the necklace."
He had been thorough, after all. As he feels curious about the pendant, he brings it to the expert at noon.
The old man at the store had scrutinized it, examining it from various angles and even using various machines to inspect its details.
After a thorough examination, he had dismissed it as nothing more than a regular piece of quartz, albeit beautifully crafted. "Just a decorative item," he had concluded.
Lost in thought, Liam was suddenly jolted back to reality by the creaking sound of an old door being pushed open.
His eyes quickly blinded as the light started coming in from the door. It feels like someone turns on a torchlight directly to his eyes.
Then, the sound of footsteps starts to reverberate in the room.
Each step grows louder as it comes closer. Along with it, a smelly odor of stale tobacco assaulted Liam's senses, making him wrinkle his nose in disgust.
As his eyes adjusted to the sudden light, a figure came into view.
"Well, well, look who's awake," a deep, gravelly voice remarked with a hint of amusement.
The kidnapper was tall and burly, standing well over six feet. (182 Cm).
He had a muscular build and wide shoulders, wearing a weathered black shirt that had seen better days. His skin was tanned, probably from countless hours under the sun.
The man's eyes were a cold, icy blue—piercing and devoid of warmth, with the bushy, unkempt beard that grew wildly around his chin and cheeks.
Strands of gray hair poked out from beneath an old baseball cap, suggesting that he was likely in his late fifties, if not older.
With an uneasy feeling, Liam asked, "Who are you?"
Instead of responding, the kidnapper took a step closer, taking a drag from his cigarette, and then, with a smirk, exhaled the smoke directly into Liam's face.
The smoke makes Liam cough as his eyes start getting teary.
The kidnapper then chuckled. "You don't need to know," Rejecting to give any information to Liam.
Liam asked, "Why am I here?"
The man, with a cold gaze, leaned uncomfortably close to Liam. "You see, young man, we're quite curious about an heirloom your father might have passed to you."
Hearing the man question, Liam Instinctively glanced down at the quartz necklace that hung around his neck.
'This necklace, is that what this is all about? But why? I was sure it was just a piece of quartz, nothing more.'
The kidnapper, with a glint of interest in his eyes, extended his rugged hand, his coarse fingers touching the pendant.
He has been ordered to look for this item in exchange for a big sum of money, and they have told him the item is very precious.
Even though they don't tell him what kind of item it is, he knows how to differentiate.
He examined it closely, holding it against the dim light from the hallway. As the light refracted through the stone, myriad colors danced around, yet his face remained unimpressed.
In his experience, he knows this is just a normal quartz, not even a diamond. There's nothing special about this pendant.
With a sarcastic smile, he scoffed, "Really now? You thought you could deceive me with this fake?"
Feeling Liam is playing hard, his face twisted into a cruel smirk. "Alright then, you want to do this the hard way?"
He honestly prefers it if his target doesn't give the item directly since this way, he can vent out his frustration.
Then, with all his strength, he starts punching Liam's face and stomach, and he punches him again and again.
BAM! BAM! BAM!
Feeling the impact of the punch, Liam could see stars flashing before his eyes. As his cheeks feel numb, he's sure it's swollen now.
As more punch comes, blood starts to spread inside his mouth.
Another fist reached his face, forcing his lips apart. Blood then started to seep from the corner of his lips, slowly dripping onto the quartz pendant he wore.
The blood flows, and it soon drips into the pendant. The once ordinary-looking quartz changed.
It began pulsating with life, illuminating complex patterns within its structure and spreading a beautiful, purplish glow.
Suddenly, Liam heard a voice.
It was ethereal and enigmatic, emanating from everywhere and nowhere at the same time, a voice devoid of discernible gender or emotion.
[Contact Established.]
[Detected more than ten years last activated.]
[Resetting data.]
[Scanning….]
The pendant pulsed, mirroring the rhythm of Liam's quickened heartbeat before a sudden surge of energy burst forth.
[Scan complete, synchronizing with the host.]
Suddenly, the solid form of the quartz liquified, transforming into a shimmering, silver liquid.
It moves towards Liam's skin and flows seamlessly into it. The sensation that followed was unbearably painful.
"Aaaaaaarggghhhhhh!!...." Liam screamed in pain.
His body squirmed and convulsed as if an army of fire ants were burrowing through his very flesh and bones. Every nerve ending feels like it's burned, making his whole senses overwhelmed by the pain.
Amidst this pain, a white screen materialized before Liam's eyes.
Cryptic symbols, numbers, and fragmented words flickered and moved on this interface, overwhelming his senses as they weaved in and out of his vision.
Just when it seemed like he could not take it anymore, the ethereal voice from earlier returned.
[Sync complete. You are the 189,089 players from Earth.]
[Welcome to the Shroud]
[As a new player, you need to complete the trial. Teleporting host to the trial floor...]
Then, purple energy starts to appear around Liam, and it spins like a whirlwind.
Moments later, he dissolved into a million light particles.
The kidnapper was surprised by what happened. Not in his whole life had he ever seen this.
He feels like he's just watched a movie. Or having a bad dream.
But the lingering feeling on his fist and the blood on his knuckle told him otherwise.
In the end, he could only mumble a broken sentence. "What in the..."
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Elvlin
Elvlin I hope you enjoyed it!
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This story has been edited a few times as I try to make it better. If you have any input, feel free to comment below.
last edited - 12/04/2023
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone