The Divine Kingdom.

The air inside the Temple of Ascalon was full of blood Scent and the suffocating scent of burning frankincense. Twelve high priests knelt in a circle, their foreheads pressed against the cold marble, chanting in a language that predated the kingdoms of man.

At the center of the ritual circle, seven holy maidens lay in a deep, magical slumber, their life force being slowly siphoned into a swirling rift of golden light.

The Arch-Cardinal shouted:

​"Oh Great Sword God! Lord of the Divine Edge! The Western Continent is falling into shadow! A false Emperor claims the thrones of kings! Send us your blade! Send us the Hero!"

​The golden rift pulsed, expanding until it touched the vaulted ceiling of the cathedral.

Then, a pillar of white light slammed into the center of the room, shattering the marble floor and sending a shockwave that blew out the stained-glass windows.

​As the smoke cleared, a young man sat in the center of the crater.

He wore a simple hoodie and sneakers, looking utterly out of place amidst the ancient stone and holy robes.

In his hand, he gripped a hilt that had no blade, but it hummed with a divine aura.

​"Ugh... my head," the boy muttered, rubbing his temples. "Where... what happened to the alleyway?"

​The Arch-Cardinal scrambled forward, falling to his knees. "Praise be! The Hero has descended! O Great One, what is your name?"

​The boy looked up, his eyes wide with confusion.

"Name? Theodore. Theodore Vance. Wait, did you guys kidnap me? Is this some kind of prank?"

​"No. You have been summoned to save us, Theodore!" the Cardinal cried. "You are in the Holy Temple of Ascalon. You are the only one who can stand against the Dragon Emperor!"

​Theodore’s heart skipped a beat. He froze, his hand tightening on the hilt.

"Ascalon? The Sword God Ascalon?"

​He looked around the temple, his eyes darting from the gothic arches to the specific runic patterns on the priests’ robes.

Soon, a cold sweat broke out across his back.

​"This can’t be happening. This is impossible. This is the world of Sword Evolution Online."

​Theodore stood up slowly, looking at his hands.

"The game world senior Liam was building. My senior... the one I killed because I wanted his legacy for myself."

​"Liam’s project," Theodore whispered, his voice trembling. "The Sword Evolution Online Project. I thought it was just a draft on his hard drive. I killed him for the code, for the rights to the story... and now I’m inside it?"

​"My Lord? Who is this Liam?" a priest asked.

​"Nobody!" Theodore snapped angrily "But wait... you said a Dragon Emperor? That wasn’t in the game scripts. Who is this guy? Is he a hidden boss? An expansion character?"

​"He calls himself Adonis Kingsbane," the Cardinal whispered. "He is a monster. He has conquered half the continent in six months. He has goddesses and queens as his concubines. He is a devil who mocks the Sword God."

​Theodore frowned, his mind racing.

"Adonis Kingsbane? I read every script Liam ever wrote. There was no Adonis. There was no Dragon Empire. The main antagonist was supposed to be Ascalom or the Emperion. But who the hell is this guy? Did the world evolve on its own? Or did Liam have a secret file I missed?

​"Fine," Theodore said, a smirk beginning to play on his lips. "If I’m the Hero, then start acting like I’m the Hero. I want food. I want a palace and lots of women. And I want every holy book you have on Sword Arts. I know how the mechanics of this world are supposed to work. If this Adonis is a glitch in the system, I’ll be the one to delete him."

​For the next two months, Theodore lived like a god within the Church’s hidden sanctum.

He feasted on the finest meats, slept on beds full of beautiful women, and was trained to by the Sword Master himself. He spent his days training with the Holy Sword, which began to manifest a blade of pure sunlight as his level rose.

​"You are progressing faster than any Hero in history, Lord Theodore!" the Sword Master of the Church exclaimed as Theodore parried a strike that would have decapitated a normal man.

​"Of course I am," Theodore panted, wiping sweat from his brow. "I know the hidden stats. I know the frame data for these moves. Liam was a genius for designing this, but he was weak for not using it. I’m the one who gets to play the game he built."

​He felt invincible. He had the backing of the Church, the power of a God, and the knowledge of a creator. But the luxury began to sour as the weeks turned into months.

​One morning, the Arch-Cardinal entered Theodore’s private chambers. His face was grim, and he carried a map that was almost entirely colored in Imperial violet.

​"Theodore," the Cardinal said, his voice lacking its usual reverence. "The Dragon Empire has reached the borders of the Holy Sea. They have taken the North-West pass. The King of Halveth is dead. The other Kings has defected to the Emperor’s side."

​Theodore set down his wine goblet. "So? I’m still training. I need another month to unlock the tenth form of the Ascalon Style."

The Cardinal replied coldly:

​"We do not have another month. The sacrifices are running thin. The people are beginning to whisper that the Dragon Emperor brings prosperity, while we bring only taxes and death. If you do not act now, the Church will lose its influence entirely. The people are starting to love the Devil more than the God."

​Theodore stood up, his sneakers long replaced by golden greaves. "You’re kicking me out? I’m the Hero! I’m the only hope you have against this ’Adonis’ guy!"

​"Then go and prove it," the Cardinal said, signaling to the temple guards. "The Holy Sword is fully charged. You have the blessings. Go to the capital of Dragonia and bring us the head of the man who rewrote our world. Or do not bother coming back."

​Theodore felt resentment. He had enjoyed the kingly lifestyle, the worship, and the ease of the Church. He wasn’t ready to face a man who had conquered a continent while he was busy eating grapes and practicing swings.

​"You’re sending me on a suicide mission," Theodore hissed.

​"If the Hero cannot kill a devil, then he is no Hero," the Cardinal countered.

​Unwillingly, Theodore was ushered to the gates of the holy city. He carried a pack of supplies and the Holy Sword of Ascalon, which glowed with a faint, judgmental light.

As the heavy stone gates closed behind him, he looked out at the horizon.

​The sky in the distance was a soft lavender, the signature mark of the Dragon Empire’s atmospheric control. It looked peaceful. It looked advanced. It didn’t look like the hellscape the priests had described.

​"I killed Liam for this," Theodore whispered to himself, his heart trembling. "I’m the protagonist now. I have the Hero’s luck. I have the knowledge of the developer."

​But as he began his journey toward Dragonia, he couldn’t shake a nagging fear. If Adonis Kingsbane wasn’t in the original game files, then he was an anomaly. A variable Theodore couldn’t predict.

​"Who are you, Adonis?" Theodore muttered, drawing his sword to clear a path through the brush.

"Are you another player? Or did Liam leave a ghost in the machine just to spite me?"

​With a shaky breath, the Hero of the Church stepped into the shadows of the forest, heading toward the heart of the empire he was destined to destroy, unaware that the man he was hunting was Liam himself.