Lord Of The Lost

The fall of the Dwarf Kingdom marked the last major war between gods.

Two thousand years ago, the gods ceased open conflict, and the chaotic world began to settle into a fragile balance.

In theory, this peace should have lasted for millennia.

But in reality, the war that destroyed the Dwarves came without warning and it was far more devastating than anything before.

No one even knew the cause. No one remembered the process.

They only fought and died, blindly following the will of their gods.

But the Black Swan had her own suspicions—

Perhaps, some of those fallen gods weren't killed by other gods.

Perhaps, something else wiped them out.

Something forbidden.

"If you ever find yourselves in a God's Falling Place," the Black Swan warned, "be cautious. Your enemy won't just be nightmares or the remnants of fallen gods."

"It may be something far, far worse."

At that moment, William's thoughts instinctively turned to the Black Forest.

The Black Swan noticed.

She smiled faintly, as if reading his mind.

"The Black Forest is just an accidental disaster, a small-scale corruption that happened to take root in the border town. Dangerous? Yes. But not the real enemy."

"The true battlefield is much larger than you think."

William recalled the Magic Kingdom's endless recruitment of soldiers, the whispers that the disaster in the Black Forest had spread from the Endless Sea, and the forbidden power lurking beneath Shadow Castle.

Pieces of the puzzle were slowly falling into place.

But none of them were ready to see the full picture.

The Hidden Crisis of a Dying World

Most players understood that the people of this world lived under pressure.

But they had no real sense of that weight.

Their journey had begun in a border town, a quiet place where life was simple, and the greatest threat seemed to be the Black Forest.

The sun still rose and set. The moon still bathed the land in its cold glow.

Even on full moon nights, when werewolves howled and hunted, the town remained standing.

It gave the illusion that everything would be fine as long as they defeated the Black Forest's boss.

William narrowed his eyes.

"The nights I see are peaceful and calm, not the dangers you speak of."

A World on the Brink of Collapse

The Black Swan remained composed.

Was it because witches, as immortal beings, were naturally detached?

Or had she already accepted the truth long ago?

She spoke softly, yet her words carried weight.

"This world is not the paradise you think it is."

"Forbidden forces are spreading in the shadows, creeping like unseen rot."

Her voice was steady, but there was an eerie certainty in it.

"If the moon were to fall, eroded and shattered, where would we stand?"

"If the sun flickered like a dying candle, what would life have left to grow upon?"

"Like a tree that appears lush and green on the outside, yet inside is riddled with decay, eaten away from within."

"Do we wait until the leaves wither and fall, until the bark peels and rots, before we recognize the truth?"

"And when spring arrives, what will sprout? Not the tender green buds of new life, but the yellowed leaves of autumn, like a newborn already burdened with age."

"The laws of nature will break."

"Life will no longer follow its cycle."

"The very essence of existence will warp beyond recognition."

"And while these changes occur silently, unseen, when they finally erupt, it will be swifter and more destructive than any curse."

"By then…"

She paused, her wine-red eyes gleaming darkly.

"Will you still believe it?"

"Will you survive it?"

The day's exploration passed in the blink of an eye.

William opened his eyes.

He was back in his room.

Slowly, he sat up, stretched, and walked to the balcony, pulling open the curtains.

The city was bathed in sunset light.

Warm orange hues stretched across the sky, casting a soft glow over the rooftops and streets.

The trees swayed gently, their leaves catching the fading sunlight.

The alleys below were quiet, ordinary, untouched by the dangers of the Lost Maze.

William leaned against the railing, watching the world.

For a moment, it felt almost surreal.

Perhaps it was the golden hue of the evening—

Perhaps it was the contrast between this world and the one he had just left—

But for the first time in a long while, everything felt warm.

Normal.

He let out a slow breath.

It was said that if one stayed in the maze for too long, they might never be able to leave.

Even high-level players weren't immune to its effects.

The constant tension, the endless battles, the looming sense of dread, it weighed on them, even if they didn't notice.

But here—

Here, in the real world, was respite.

He exhaled, stepping back inside.

"Let's eat first," William muttered to himself, pushing the thoughts away.

For now, at least, he could rest.

Logging back into the game felt like stepping into another life.

After a much-needed half-day break, everyone's spirits were noticeably better.

Every expedition drained them to the brink of exhaustion.

The worst hit were Forum Master and Metatron—

Their abilities required constant focus, their minds always on high alert.

William, with his higher attribute values, could endure more.

But even he felt the creeping weight of fatigue.

These past days had been spent entirely in the maze.

For Forum Master and the others, it was pure torture—

Their attribute values dipping dangerously low, causing debilitating side effects.

They chugged potions like water, barely keeping themselves together.

Only logging out gave them any real relief.

Now, their expressions were eerily familiar—

Like corporate employees after a 20-hour overtime shift, waking up only to face another hellish workload.

They didn't want to go back.

But they had no choice.

The Lost Maze was suffocating.

The air itself felt heavy.

The endless dark corridors whispered of madness.

Stay too long, and the maze would taint you—

Both body and soul.

An Abandoned Town, A Worthless Search

William and the team moved carefully through another set of ruins.

This time, it was an abandoned town.

Buildings collapsed into rubble.

Stone streets cracked and covered in dust.

Time had worn this place down to nothing but decay.

And yet, somehow, it still remained on the surface when the world collapsed.

But William knew the truth, ordinary towns like this were worthless.

Searching for treasure here was just a waste of time.

Most supplies in the maze couldn't last.

Even low-tier extraordinary items eventually crumbled into dust—

Their powers drained by the chaotic forces that ruled this place.

Metatron tapped his forehead, activating [God's Perspective], his voice calm and direct:

"There's nothing worth searching for here. Let's just pass through."

His ability had always been a guiding light for the team.

But now, at Level 10, his vision was even sharper.

He could glimpse into the future, predicting the movements of certain Sequence 8 monsters.

When it came to Sequence 8 Transcendents, however, the effort drained his mind significantly.

But this foresight had saved their team more times than they could count.

It was the reason they had so few casualties.

Yet, lately, something had changed—

Metatron had begun to see William's shadow in his visions.

Before, William was completely hidden.

Now, one in ten glimpses revealed faint traces of his presence.

William's mystery was unraveling.

Even so, they had no time to dwell on it.

The team quickened their pace, navigating through the collapsed ruins.

Then—

A monster lunged from the darkness.

A blur of motion.

SHINK!

William reacted instantly—

Swinging his Whirlwind Axe, he cleaved the creature in half before it could even land an attack.

Blood splattered.

The battle was over before it began.

But then—

A sharp snap echoed through the ruins.

William looked down.

The Evil Spear, already damaged from the fight with the Harpies, had finally shattered completely.

It had endured so much—

But now, it was gone.

And the Lost Maze had just claimed another weapon.

William had no choice but to switch to the Whirlwind Axe.

This double-edged greatsword had once been a silver-tier weapon, the equivalent of a Sequence 7 Beyonder's gear.

Though its extraordinary properties had long since faded, its sheer hardness and sharpness remained.

It could still split a giant's bones like brittle wood.

However, William's attack was laced with dark energy and the creature survived.

Even after being cleaved in half vertically, it writhed in its own blood, still twitching and trying to move.

A monstrous, humanoid bat, grotesque and unnatural.

A Sequence 9 Fallen Vampire.

William's eyes narrowed, he recognized this creature.

On his journey to Shadow Castle, he had encountered a black magician who had transformed into a Fallen Vampire upon death.

This one looked eerily similar.

Vampires were notorious for their resilience—

Even stronger than werewolves when it came to surviving fatal injuries.

No one was particularly shocked that it refused to die.

But Metatron? He was baffled.

A Sequence 9 Vampire should never have slipped past his [God's Perspective].

At the very least, his talent should have triggered a warning sign before the attack.

Something was wrong.

"Its weaknesses are the heart and brain," Forum Master pointed out.

William reacted instantly.

Dark energy coalesced in his palms, forming into two obsidian spears.

SHUNK!

Both spears pierced through the vampire's heart and skull simultaneously.

The creature convulsed, then fell still.

Victory.

But William didn't relax.

His brows furrowed deeper.

No effect from [Killing to Prove the Way]?

Something was definitely off.

"This thing… it's fake."

A tense silence fell over the group.

Metatron, still unsettled, closed his eyes and pressed his fingertips to his forehead.

[God's Perspective. God's Perspective. God's Perspective…]

He pushed his talent to its limits, searching for the source of this anomaly.

Something was deeply, dangerously wrong.

They weren't just in trouble—

They were on the verge of walking into a disaster.