EVOLVERA EVOLUTION

The city was still reeling. The aftermath of the third wave left Evolvera scarred, but safe. Cheers filled the air, NPCs and players alike thanking invisible hands. But only one name buzzed across forums, message boards, and hushed player whispers: Nyxaris.

[SYSTEM ANNOUNCEMENT: PLAYER NYXARIS HAS DEFEATED THE PUPPETEER.]

[REWARD DISTRIBUTED. ALL MONSTER REMNANTS NOW VULNERABLE.]

Nyxaris stood at the edge of the city's inner wall, his cloak fluttering as he surveyed the fields below. Dozens of monsters still roamed, disoriented and weakened. He raised his hand—Aetherion pulsed.

Nyxaris: "Let's finish this."

In a blur, he descended from the wall, landing hard, arcane shockwaves rippling from his boots. The weakened monsters noticed him, too late.

He slashed—clean, efficient, and utterly devastating. Each movement cut down multiple enemies, the blade slicing through air and matter like silk. Arcane Pulse Nova erupted around him, clearing entire clusters in seconds.

Meanwhile, across the server, chat channels lit up:

[Global Chat]

[StormDagger]: "Who is Nyxaris??"

[JinxZero]: "No one knows. Dude never shows his name. Just wipes out bosses like it's a tutorial."

[CrimsonVale]: "I saw that blade. That's not even in the item database…"

As the last monster crumbled into glowing dust, the sky pulsed, and a golden screen appeared before only him.

[PRIVATE SYSTEM NOTIFICATION – PLAYER: NYXARIS]

You have been granted the right to evolve once more.

Proceed to Seraphis for: EVOLUTION TRIAL – FINAL ASCENSION.

Warning: Unknown Forces Are Interfering.

This Trial Will Not Be Normal.

Zeraldris (voice only):

"So… the gods have taken notice. This won't be like the last."

Nyxaris: "Then I'll give them a reason to keep watching."

Zeraldris:

"Choose wisely, slime. The next city… it's not just about strength. It's about will. Power without control is collapse."

Nyxaris: "Good. I want to break their expectations."

He checked his status screen, the numbers staggering:

[PLAYER STATUS – UPDATED]

Name: Nyxaris

Race: Arcane Slime (Tier 2 Evolution – Eligible for Tier 3)

Class: Arcane Sovereign (Unique)

Level: 120 ⬆

HP: 175,000

MP: 480,000

Strength: 24,000

Agility: 30,500

Endurance: 33,000

Magic Power: 210,000

Gold: 11,750,000

[NEW SKILLS ACQUIRED!]

▶ Arcane Blinkstorm: Teleport short distances while leaving behind arcane explosions.

▶ Dimensional Lock (Active): Prevents any entity from escaping or teleporting in a 200-meter radius.

▶ Aetherion's Wrath (Ultimate): Channels Nyxaris' magic through Aetherion, unleashing a barrage of light-speed strikes that ignore armor and defenses.

He sheathed the blade across his back, opened the map, and marked Seraphis.

Nyxaris: "It's time."

Zeraldris:

"Your evolution… it may shake the roots of this world. And I'll be there to witness it."

He stepped through the city's teleport gate.

The world trembled.

[SYSTEM ANNOUNCEMENT: PLAYER NYXARIS HAS INITIATED THE FINAL ASCENSION TRIAL.]

[ALL ADMINS – SYSTEM BREACH DETECTED. PLAYER NOT FOLLOWING PROGRAMMED PATHS.]

[ERROR: CANNOT CONTAIN. PLAYER STATUS – IRREGULAR.]

A cold wind howled as Nyxaris stepped through the teleportation gate.

The moment his boots touched Seraphis' ground, he felt it.

Something was wrong.

Unlike other cities, Seraphis was cloaked in a thick, unnatural mist. The air carried a strange weight, making even the most seasoned players hesitate at the gates. The streets were nearly empty—shops abandoned, NPCs whispering in fear.

Zeraldris (telepathically):

"This place… it's rejecting you."

Nyxaris narrowed his eyes. "So, the game is resisting again. Interesting."

As he took a step forward, a SYSTEM ALERT flashed across his vision.

[WARNING: FINAL ASCENSION TRIAL DETECTED.]

[SERAPHIS HAS BEEN ALTERED.]

[TRIAL PARAMETERS… UNKNOWN.]

[Global Chat – Player Reactions]

[SpecterKnight]: "Uh… Seraphis just changed on my map. Did the devs drop a patch?"

[XenonPrime]: "No update notes. This isn't planned."

[AzureDrake]: "I WAS in Seraphis. Now I'm back at my spawn point??"

[OverlordReign]: "Wait, did someone enter a hidden dungeon or something?"

Nyxaris ignored the chat. He was already moving, his footsteps echoing across the empty cobblestone streets.

He sensed it. Something was watching him.

Then, a figure emerged from the mist—a hooded NPC, cloaked in deep crimson.

Hooded NPC: "The Irregular arrives."

Nyxaris didn't even flinch. "And you are?"

The figure chuckled, voice distorted, glitching like a corrupted file.

Hooded NPC: "A messenger. Your evolution… will not be as simple as before."

Without warning, the air rippled. The mist around them solidified into jagged tendrils, twisting toward him.

Nyxaris reacted instantly—Arcane Blinkstorm.

His body blurred, teleporting behind the NPC as explosions detonated where he once stood.

Zeraldris:

"They're not part of the game's design. This is external interference."

Nyxaris raised his hand, magic crackling. "Then let's push back."

He swung Aetherion forward, releasing Aetherion's Wrath—a flurry of light-speed slashes that ripped through the mist like paper.

The hooded figure barely evaded, tendrils reforming into a spear in his hands.

Hooded NPC: "You wield power beyond this world… but will you survive the judgment?"

The city trembled.

A massive chasm split open beneath them, revealing a hidden arena buried beneath Seraphis.

The system screamed in protest.

[SYSTEM ANNOUNCEMENT: PLAYER NYXARIS HAS INITIATED A FORBIDDEN TRIAL.]

[ADMINS ALERTED – OVERRIDE FAILURE.]

[UNKNOWN ENTITY DETECTED.]

Zeraldris:

"Heh. Now this… this is getting interesting."

Nyxaris smirked. "Let's see what they've got."

He jumped into the abyss.

The moment Nyxaris leaped into the abyss, time seemed to slow.

The air was heavy with energy—not just magic, but something deeper, older. The system was struggling to process what was happening, and he could see faint, flickering error codes in the corner of his vision.

His body descended, gravity shifting unnaturally as the world warped around him.

Then, suddenly—impact.

Nyxaris landed gracefully on a vast, circular stone platform, surrounded by endless darkness. Above him, the city of Seraphis was barely visible, its skyline distorted as if viewed through a broken lens.

He wasn't alone.

Across from him, standing at the center of the arena, was the hooded NPC.

But now, his form was… shifting. The crimson robes peeled away like burning parchment, revealing something inhuman beneath—a tall figure clad in obsidian-black armor, glowing with pulsating red veins.

[SYSTEM WARNING: ENTITY IDENTIFIED – NAME UNKNOWN]

[ERROR: ENTITY EXCEEDS GAME PARAMETERS]

The system was failing to define this opponent.

Nyxaris flexed his fingers, feeling a strange pressure around his body.

Zeraldris (telepathically):

"Be cautious. This… thing isn't bound by the game's rules anymore."

Nyxaris smirked. "Neither am I."

The figure lifted his head slightly, revealing two piercing, golden eyes glowing beneath his helmet.

Then, for the first time, he spoke.

???: "You are an anomaly."

Nyxaris tilted his head. "And you are?"

The figure ignored the question. Instead, he raised his right hand, and a towering greatsword materialized in his grasp—a blade wreathed in black flames, warping the very air around it.

???: "If you seek the next evolution, prove you are worthy."

A pulse of energy erupted from him, shaking the arena. The stone beneath their feet cracked, and the entire space expanded outward, revealing a vast battlefield stretching into infinity.

Nyxaris instinctively took a step forward, his aura surging.

Zeraldris:

"This is no ordinary battle. He's not just a boss—he's testing your very existence."

Nyxaris cracked his knuckles.

"Then let's not disappoint."

[SYSTEM ALERT – FORBIDDEN TRIAL INITIATED]

[FINAL EVOLUTION CHALLENGE – THE SHADOW OF THE OLD CODE]

[REQUIREMENTS: SURVIVE AND OVERCOME]

The shadowy figure vanished in an instant.

Nyxaris barely had time to react—the black greatsword was already descending toward him.

CLANG!

He barely raised Aetherion in time to block, and the sheer force of the attack sent him skidding backward, his feet carving deep trenches into the stone.

The weight behind that strike was absurd—as if an entire world had been dropped onto him.

Nyxaris gritted his teeth, eyes sharpening.

"Tch. So this is how we're playing?"

He blinked forward, activating Arcane Blinkstorm, reappearing above the entity in a whirl of slashing energy.

But his opponent didn't move.

Instead—his form flickered.

Nyxaris' blade passed through him as if cutting through a ghost.

A second later, a burning pain erupted across his back.

SLASH!

Nyxaris was hurled across the battlefield, crashing through stone pillars that weren't even there before.

HP: 120,000 → 82,000

Nyxaris coughed, rolling to his feet.

He barely had time to process what happened before a voice echoed inside his mind.

Zeraldris:

"That wasn't teleportation. He phased out of existence for a moment."

Nyxaris narrowed his eyes.

"Phased…? That means he's moving between the game's layers."

The figure appeared again, standing calmly, blade resting on his shoulder.

???: "You cannot harm me if you fight like a mere mortal."

Nyxaris wiped the blood from his lips. Then, he grinned.

"Good thing I'm not just a player anymore."

He lifted Aetherion, and for the first time, he tapped into the power of the Eldros Keys.

A pulse of ancient energy surged around him, distorting the battlefield. The system screamed in protest, error messages flashing rapidly as Nyxaris' stats began to rise exponentially.

[SYSTEM WARNING: PLAYER NYXARIS HAS ACTIVATED A POWER OUTSIDE THE GAME'S PARAMETERS.]

Nyxaris vanished.

Reappeared behind his opponent—but this time, he wasn't aiming for the body.

He slashed at the very space around him.

Aetherion's edge carved through the fabric of the battlefield itself, forcing the entity out of his phasing state.

The figure stumbled for the first time.

Nyxaris didn't waste the opening.

"Arcane Pulse Nova!"

A devastating explosion of arcane energy erupted, engulfing the entity completely. The force of the blast tore through the arena, creating a massive crater beneath them.

For a moment, silence.

Then, from the smoke—

A shadow moved.

The figure walked forward, armor cracked, golden eyes burning brighter than ever.

Nyxaris tightened his grip.

The real battle was just beginning.