Absolute Resonance - Chapter 0919: The Ninth Battle

'Divinity Online'. The new breakthrough in the Full-Immersion Virtual Reality technology. After decades of work, Divinity Corp had achieved the impossible. Creating a massive video game world that people can enter and live in as if it were Earth. Their goal was clear, to create a world other than Earth that we can call home.A place where the laws of reality vanish, and the true ceiling of power shifts completely.Naturally, the shockwave Divinity Online created across the entire globe was unlike anything else. Every single person has heard of it, even those who have had no interest in video games before.Giant corporations and even governments immediately rushed to start planning to invest in this new world and just like that, billions of people had their eyes on one single date: the 19th of July.***Arthur, like everyone else, had heard of the game and was as excited as everyone else to try it, if not even more. With how much he grew bored of his life on earth, this fantasy world was like the divine call he had been searching for. However, there was a very small problem.He had no money to buy the machine required to access Divinity Online. His wretched life had turned him into a broke teenager with no parents, and no relatives. But, by some kind of luck, he got his hands on one of those machines.Not knowing what was awaiting him in that world, Arthur was simply seeking one thing... A new opportunity in life and to find a purpose he could work for when he had none so far.[Welcome to 'Divinity Online'.][Assimilation Started...]

Betrayed. Ridiculed. Killed.That was my past life.I trusted the wrong people, and they buried me for it. But fate wasn’t done with me yet. When I opened my eyes again, it wasn’t in my old body—it was in a world overrun by the undead. And this time, I was one of them.A fucking zombie!But I’m not like the others. I think. I feel. I remember.What’s this voice in my head?[Welcome to the Silent Requiem System!]The system feeds me power, unlocking missions and skill buried within this body. I have one goal: rise in rank, take control, and make sure no one ever tramples me again.The humans I move with have no idea what I really am. To them, I’m just another survivor, clawing my way to the top. But in battle, I use my abilities in secret—manipulating the undead, eliminating threats, and turning every fight in my favor.But rumors are spreading. There’s talk of an undead hiding among them, unseen and unstoppable. If they find out the truth, they’ll hunt me down like a monster.And my past? It’s here too. The people who betrayed me in my last life are standing right beside me, unaware of who I am. But I remember them. They turned on me once—I won’t give them the chance to do it again.Then there’s him. The commander of the city, sharp-eyed and ruthless. He’s watching me too closely, asking too many questions. If he figures out the truth, I’ll have to make a choice: eliminate him, outplay him… or pull him into my trap before he can destroy me.Because in this world, power is the only thing that matters. And this time, I refuse to be at the bottom.***“How did you survive when everyone else died?”I guess death just didn’t want me.“Why do the zombies ignore you?”Maybe I just have a face they don’t like.“You were just a nobody yesterday—how are you suddenly so strong?”Hard work, luck… and a little bit of hex.“Why do I feel like I've seen you somewhere before?”Déjà vu’s a funny thing, isn’t it?“What are you?”Wouldn’t you like to know?

The call of the nightmare realm cannot be denied, the woven fate is inevitable.

His ability to travel to the nightmare realm granted him immortality but also pit him with an unfamiliar world, curses and magics unseen before in the real world.

Monsters of unknown origin, macabre beasts and horrors beyond the ken of man have taken the place of old inhabitants of a once glorious civilization.

Now under the light of the Clairvoyant Moon the nightmare realm is on the verge of destruction. Here you will find dishonorable knights, mad sorcerers, twisted alchemist, the malformed Lost Ones and the vestiges of old gods all converging in a dead world.

But there are also those who seek to undo the curse, to restore the world. There are scavengers that only want to survive, the seekers of truth that seek the secrets of old.

And then there’s Aldrich who plans to exploit the resources and powers of the nightmare realm to achieve his own goals.

The epic tale of struggle against impossible odds and enemies bigger than life.

What Aldrich will find outside his little village will not just test the limits of his will, but also his sanity.

****

Aldrich, is a fifteen year old boy, living in a small village called Wakefield, he dreams of being a Crestmaster.

On the day Aldrich awakens his Crest, Wakefield is attacked and burned.

He is the only survivor, barely making it out with a mysterious gift, a heavy mission and dire warnings to never turn back.

He is then told to forget about what he saw and the innocent villagers that died, to never ask questions. All things Aldrich could never do.

One day he will uncover the forces behind the massacre and take his revenge. But for now he will lower his head and pretend that nothing has happened.

For now.

When he stayed at her home and one night, he took her body in a drunken stupor. From then on, he had been a constant fixture in her life. How adamant he was in forcing a marriage was how adamant she demanded for a divorce. “I’m not staying married to you! I’m not staying married to you! I’m not staying married to you!” After she repeated such an important proclamation three times, he finally tossed her the divorce paper. She thought she had finally escaped him alas… After the divorce, he still snuck into her room every night… Finally losing her patience, she yelled, “We are already divorced!” He glanced at her and set down the divorce paper before her. On it, it was written clearly: After the divorce, the car is hers, the house is hers, the company is hers, their child is hers, he… is also hers?