Chapter 288 Awakening
Chapter 288 Awakening
Pyris after waking up the heaviness of his body slowly lifting as the world around him came into focus. His heart, steady and slow, gave him a moment of peace before the weight of reality came crashing back. The first sight that greeted him was his family—his sweet sister Elsa and Emilia, their worry etched into their faces. Relief lit up their expressions when they saw his eyes open, and the tension in the room seemed to dissipate slightly.
"Big brother, Pyris!" Elsa cried, throwing her arms around him. Her small frame pressed against him, offering warmth that only family could provide.
"I'm fine, Elsa," Pyris reassured her, though his tone carried the exhaustion of battle. Emilia stood back, arms crossed, her sharp gaze studying him as if to confirm his words. She offered him a small nod when satisfied.
As he pulled himself upright, something familiar appeared in his vision—a string of notifications from his system that had waited for him during his unconscious state.
He waved off the concern of his family for a moment and focused.
[Ding! Mission Completed.
Engage the Guardian in a Death Match!
Reward 1: A Map to ???]
Pyris sighed. "System, what kind of games are you playing with me now?"
[Reward 2: Game Core from the Goddess!
A core of the game created by the Goddess of Lust. This potent and immersive core allows 50% of in-game powers to transfer into the real world for players, while you and your selected individuals will gain 100%!]
A warning accompanied the reward:
[Message From the Goddess:
My Champion, this is a game I created to replace your current ARGO VRMMORPG core. The gods and immortals have plans to infiltrate your game. They've recruited pawns to corrupt players in it from within because of the prophecy tied to you and your house. You can either launch the game using this core or abandon the project entirely—but ignore this warning at your own peril!]
The message hung heavy in the air. Pyris leaned back, his fingers rubbing his temple as he processed the implications.
"Why I'm I not even surprised...gods ... of course," he muttered bitterly. He had long suspected the gods wouldn't take his rise lying down, but for them to act so quickly was both infuriating and unsettling.
He couldn't help but wonder—what was in this that made the gods so desperate to control mortals?
The game core offer from the Goddess posed an impossible choice: change the entire game or abandon years of work entirely. But if what the system said was true, there was no real option. The gods wanted to infiltrate ARGO, to control it, mortals—and him.
"System, what are the other implications if I use this new core?" Pyris asked, narrowing his eyes.
[Host! The game with the Goddess's core functions autonomously. Neither mortals nor gods can influence it once implemented. It is akin to a self-contained world with its own laws unlike yours that copied the current world.]
Ouch!
The system's explanation sent a chill down Pyris's spine. A self-contained world? He wasn't naive enough to believe that this was merely a game anymore. There was something far more sinister and far more complex at work... Maybe?
"Is this even a game, then?" Pyris whispered, his voice tinged with suspicion. The system didn't answer, but its silence was more telling than any response.
[Ding! Mission Completed.
Survive and Kill the Guardian.
Reward 1: Unknown Orb information
Reward 2: Elemental Spawns information !]
Pyris froze as he read the rewards. His heartbeat quickened.
These are the most important information he needed.
"Elemental Spawns?" he asked cautiously, already suspecting the answer he'd receive.
[These are beings born from the overflowing divinity of the Ancient God, The Elemental Deity. The Guardian you fought was a Lv0 Spawn, host.]
A cold shiver ran down Pyris's spine. He clenched his fists, recalling the sheer power of the guardian—the crushing weight of its aura, the devastating force behind every strike. That was only Level 0?
"How strong is a Level 20 Spawn, system?" Pyris asked, though he wasn't sure he wanted the answer.
Find your next adventure on My Virtual Library Empire
[The exact strength is unknown, even to the Goddess. However, a Level 15 Spawn is comparable to a High Immortal. It is estimated that a Level 20 Spawn could rival a normal or low-ranking god.]
The air left Pyris's lungs as he tried to comprehend what he'd just heard. If the guardian—a Level 0 Spawn—was that powerful, then the higher-level spawns were unfathomable. And if these were just the spawns, how powerful was the Elemental Deity himself?
"If a single wave of his hand could erase the mortal realm..." Pyris whispered, horrified at the thought.
He shook his head, forcing himself to focus. The gods, the game—everything was converging, and the decisions he made now could either protect his family or destroy them.
"The gods and immortals are planning to infiltrate ARGO," Pyris muttered. "But how?"
[Host, the current ARGO core has a loophole that allows divine influence. Since it's connected directly to players' neural systems, gods can exert control over their consciousness once they log in.]
Pyris cursed under his breath. He and his mother had created something groundbreaking, a second world for players to immerse themselves in. But in their ambition, they had overlooked one critical detail—they were still under the gods' watchful eyes.
"This was a mistake," Pyris admitted. "We thought we were building something free, but we were only building another system of control. The gods won't stop until they own everything."
He clenched his jaw, his determination hardening. He needed to talk to his mother. They had two choices—abandon the game or use the Goddess's core. Either way, the truth about his divine connection, about being the Champion of Lust, could no longer remain a secret. So was his real identity.
Pyris straightened, his mind racing. He would protect his family and his people, no matter the cost. The gods might have underestimated him, but they were about to learn why that was a mistake.
"It's time to face this," Pyris said quietly. "No more hiding. System wait to transfer the other information."
_____
Minutes later.
The Dragon Empire's Turmoil
The atmosphere in the Dragon Empire had taken a chilling turn. A darkness blanketed the skies, allowing only faint streaks of sunlight to filter through, casting an ominous shadow over the land. The rare dimness wasn't just a quirk of weather—it seemed to reflect the tension gripping the empire.
By evening, the reason for this gloom had spread like wildfire: the Princess of the Empire, Seraphina Valyrian, had committed an unthinkable act.
She had severed her bloodline.
The news struck with the force of a thunderclap, shaking not just the empire but the entire continent of Argos.
The Dragon Emperor had learned of the forbidden relationship between his daughter and Pyris Obsidian. Enraged, he had demanded the immediate end of their bond.
But the Princess, defiant in her love for Pyris, had done the unthinkable. She hadn't just refused her father's command to his face—she had severed her Bloodline.
Just for a man!
Even more shocking was her mysterious disappearance. High General Zed, a figure feared across the empire, had been sent to apprehend her. Yet, before he could act, time itself had stopped for mere moments—a supernatural stillness that no one could explain. When time resumed, the princess was gone.
Theories ran rampant: had House Obsidian intervened? Was it one of the guardian's ancient arts? Or had someone even more powerful played their hand?
The emperor's response was swift and merciless.
The Emperor's Decree!