[Start Game]
Adrian's sighed.
If any other game had threatened death for failing to play, Adrian would have laughed it off. He would have called it a cheap marketing trick, an edgy attempt to make the game seem intense. But now… the fear was real. It wrapped around him, cold and suffocating, sinking its claws into his mind.
And he knew. Knew deep in his bones that throwing the console away wouldn't help.
It wasn't even a matter of logic or deduction—it was instinct. A raw, primal certainty. The moment the thought of destroying the console crossed his mind, a crushing weight of fear would descend upon him. His breath would hitch, his muscles would seize, and his mind would drown in terror so absolute that even moving a finger became impossible.
He wasn't stupid. He didn't need anyone to explain it to him. The moment the game had said "Welcome, Adrian," something had happened. A connection had been forged—deep, unnatural, and irreversible.
For better or for worse… he was part of the game now.
He sighed, and moved forward. He didn't know if he his timer for his death had started, but he was not taking a risk to test this eriee thing out. So he clicked start game.
[Please choose your Character]
An assortment of characters came in front of his eyes, and as he viewed each of them, he noticed that every single one of them was greyed out.
[Sincar, The Sorcerer King]
[Faction: The Tower Of Arcane]
[Ragnar, The Bonesnapper]
[Faction: The Blood Axe Tribe]
[Elguard, The Blessed One]
[Faction: The Great Ancyar Forest]
There was too many characters to go through that Adrian had already given up to fully check every single character, so he got straight to the only playable character he could play right now.
[Kael, The Sunborne]
[Faction: The Empire]
There were non human factions in the game, but maybe because the game was just starting or maybe for an entire another reason, the first playable character he could play was a human.
He confirmed his choice.
The screen again began to go black, and then lit up with the words War Crown, and then, a narration started.
The screen flickered to life, casting a dim glow across the darkened room. Adrian leaned back on the couch, gripping the controller as the title screen slowly faded into view. His breath, low and steady, filled the silence as the game's introduction began.
"In the ancient realm of Athenia, there once stood a mighty empire—a beacon of honor and magic, forged in the fires of countless wars and tempered by centuries of peace."
The screen darkened, and a vast kingdom appeared, stretching across rolling plains and towering mountains. Sunlight bathed the silver spires of great cities, while knights in shining armor marched through grand streets lined with banners and sigils.
"Once, it was the jewel of the realms—a mighty empire ruled by an order of knights and mages. Strength and wisdom, steel and sorcery, united under the light of the Crown."
The scene shifted. Mages stood upon high towers, casting radiant spells that formed protective barriers over the cities. Knights sparred in massive courtyards, their armor glinting beneath a golden sun.
"It was an age of prosperity. Of peace."
Suddenly, the skies darkened. A deep, resonant hum shook the scene as thick, black clouds swallowed the sunlight. The sound of distant screams echoed through the air.
"But peace never lasts."
Shadows crept through the forests. Villages stood empty, the streets lined with twisted roots and blackened corpses. The rivers ran thick with dark ichor, and the very land seemed to rot beneath an unnatural taint.
"Three great Daemons emerged at the heart of the chaos, each a nightmare given form."
The screen split into three jagged sections, each forming the silhouette of a monstrous figure.
"The Beast Father, Alkaroth—he corrupts the land and bends the wild to his will. His presence seeps into nature itself, warping creatures into grotesque abominations. His Tides of Beasts swarm across the land, devouring anything in their path."
A deep growl rumbled through the speakers as the silhouette of a monstrous horned figure emerged.
"The Ghost King, Velcoris—he rules the border between life and death. His legions of wraiths and specters haunt the night, draining the life from all they touch. Entire cities vanish into the fog when he rises."
The shadow of a crowned figure with hollow eyes flickered into existence, surrounded by swirling fog.
"And the Tyrant of Chains, Malghoran—his dominion is of order and subjugation. He binds the minds of men, twisting kings and generals into his thralls. His armies march beneath banners of iron and flame, crushing all who defy him."
Heavy chains clinked in the background as a towering armored figure appeared, wreathed in dark flames.
"Corruption spread like wildfire. The wildlife and even the land itself began to twist and mutate. Whole regions were swallowed by the Tides of Beasts. Cities fell to the Ghost King's fog. Kingdoms bowed to the Tyrant's chains. The age of chaos reigned supreme as the trumpet of war blew fiercely across the realm."
"But the ancestors' prophecy was not yet finished. When the darkness reaches its peak and chaos threatens to consume all… a High Emperor will rise. He will be the light in the age of shadow, the final hope of Athenia."
The screen darkened. The skull-and-crown logo returned, pulsing faintly. Adrian sat back, his heart pounding.
"…I don't know if this is just a game anymore."
Because the level of immersement in this game was not something he could comprehend. When he looked at the figures of the so called Daemons, even though it was vauge, a feeling of deep unsettling fear bore deep into his mind.
After the narration, he was zoomed into the the capital of the Empire, the bastion of humans in this world, and in there, the newly rose 'Emperor' Kael Von Steel marched with his armies.
As Adrian saw it, the 27-year-old Kael, recently elected by the Elector Council, was an Emperor in name only. He didn't even have a proper province under his direct control — much less the backing of the empire.
Kael's father had recently died in battle against the Beast Tide. The victory had been hard-fought, but it had bought the Empire a brief moment of breathing room — or so they thought. No sooner had the tide been turned than rebellion erupted across the land like wildfire. Three of the major cities surrounding the capital rose in open defiance, their banners stripped of Imperial colors.
That left Kael with Stuargard — the capital and little else.
And the forces he could command… well, it was laughable. When the ceremonial introductions were over and the council members had dispersed to their respective corners of the fractured Empire, Kael was left alone to tackle the rebellion.
As the game began, he could see how the game worked. The playable character, which was Kael could be seen in the map with an enlarged figure, and just a little further away, a Successionist Army, as they named themselves was lingering, to exploit the weakness and take Stuargard for themselves.
"Warhammer... Isn't this just like Warhammer Series?"
Indeed, this game had an inspiration of the Warhammer Series, as its war mechanics was similar.
Adrian began his first move, as he directed his character to the Successionst Army, suddenly, when they intersected, the screen changed, and the screen zoomed in.
[Enemy Army Intercepted!]
[Start War]
[Flee]
[Set up Stance]
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