Nyxfall 7: The Veilbreakers

His biggest adversary? The man he had dedicated half his youth to killing was standing right in front of him—except it wasn't a man at all. It was a girl.

Hold on. Could this be a trick of the Beyonders? A way to test whether anyone remembered the previous version of the timeline?

Kai forced himself to stay calm, acting as if he hadn't noticed her at all. With careful effort, he adjusted his movements and slowly walked away from the path of the oncoming NPCs and players. Still, his mind raced at full speed. 

Could she really be the same person?

He was a Nexus Kin, that much was certain. But was this his origin story? No, that couldn't be right. He had always been a player, both in this world and the last.

The girl—the one carrying the name of the most heinous character in the entire game—ignored him completely, stepping into the crater to examine whatever lay inside.

It couldn't be her. Could it?

The thought gnawed at Kai, refusing to let go.

He took a moment to scan the area. There were plenty of other players around—he counted 27 already near him, with more still arriving. The village itself was modest, a cluster of small huts and wooden structures scattered across the hillside, but it was bigger than one might realize, their interiors dimly lit by the early morning sun.

Predictably, the human players had already begun their usual antics—the kind of reckless behavior that had made their species infamous across the galaxy. It was well-known that humans, no matter the game, always acted like lunatics. This was why the entire galaxy had long since concluded that humans had no idea what they were doing. 

Even now, some were punching civilians or kicking the steel-and-glass capsule that had just crashed. Of course, the NPCs didn't tolerate this behavior and swiftly punished the troublemakers. It didn't take long for the rest of the humans to learn their lesson.

Despite the chaos, they were still chatting excitedly in the open proximity chat. Among them, alien players stood out—not just by their cautious silence but also by their mannerisms. Unlike humans, their movements were too deliberate, too precise to be natural. Many had customized their avatars to resemble their native species, making them easy to recognize. Kai spotted several familiar forms but made no effort to engage.

Back when Nyxfall 6 was at its peak on the internet, these same players had been dismissed as part of a bizarre online cult. Their tendency to group together in the same guilds only reinforced the rumors. Nobody had ever suspected the truth—that they were actual aliens. They weren't allowed to reveal information about their civilizations, and whenever they tried, the game beeped out their words. This censorship had only deepened the mystery surrounding them.

Kai shook off the distraction and refocused. He couldn't let go of his suspicion. He trailed after the black-skinned girl, keeping his distance. When she found nothing of interest in the crater, she turned and headed straight back to the village. Kai followed as stealthily as he could.

"Why wouldn't you listen when I told you not to go?" a woman with slightly alien features—her green hands gesturing sharply—reprimanded the girl.

Kai crouched behind their hut, listening in. From their conversation, he gathered that the girl was supposed to be the woman's daughter. The NPC had been teaching her something important when she had abruptly run off after hearing the crash.

The situation was the same as his. But the way the girl responded to the NPC.. it felt practiced. Experienced. Just like him, she was mirroring her habits, asking questions to gather as much information as possible.

Kai peered through a gap in the hut's straw walls. After the lecture, the motherly NPC was now demonstrating a breathing technique—one that appeared to conserve stamina. She moved with deliberate precision, her posture relaxed yet firm. A faint glow pulsed around her, syncing with each inhale and exhale.

"You mustn't waste your energy," she murmured, her voice calm. "Breathe with purpose, and your body will endure far more than you realize."

Kai leaned in for a closer look—too far. A strange, squirrel-like creature with blue fur darted past him. Startled, he reflexively shifted his foot, rustling the dry straw beneath him. The sound made both the girl and her mother pause mid-conversation.

'Shit.'

Kai knew he had messed up. Without hesitation, he backed away, slipping between the huts as quietly as possible. The huts here were much closer together than the one he belonged to at the village's outskirts, making it easier to hide. Once at a safe distance, he exhaled, forcing himself to think.

He hadn't learned anything concrete—only that she was an experienced player. That shouldn't be possible. The game was brand new in this timeline. It had launched today. Which meant there was a real chance she was The Deimos Empirium. The same enemy he had fought in his past life. The one he had died after killing.

And if she was here, then Phoenix_Resurrect should be here too. Kai didn't know her real name, but he prayed she had kept her original gaming ID. If she was also back—with her memories intact—then had he made a mistake by not using his old name? His appearance was similar enough, he supposed. But if he was in a Nexus Kin village, he clearly wasn't a normal human. He needed a mirror. Or a lake. Something to see his reflection.

If she had changed her name.. No, there was still hope. She didn't know his full name. But she did know Kai. That should be enough.

As for Deimos Empirium, he—or she—didn't know it was Kai who had delivered the final blow to their last avatar. Maybe he could use that to his advantage. Still, he couldn't shake the feeling that this might all be a trick. Could the Beyonders also retain their memories? If not, then this reincarnation, this second chance—whatever it was—wasn't their doing.

There were too many things Kai didn't know yet. Before doing anything reckless, he needed to be absolutely sure. If others like him were also playing this game with their past memories, he had no time to mess around. Anyone could alter the timeline in ways he couldn't predict. He had to be better than all of them—he had to shape the timeline according to his will.

Kai strolled through the village, observing and casually greeting the villagers he passed. Of course, it was all in the hopes of finding a quest. He did receive some small rewards—strange fruits, minor errands, and the occasional request to fetch something trivial. He completed them all without hesitation; everything took place within the village, so it wasn't a big deal.

There were no visible stats for familiarity or reputation with NPCs, but Kai knew these things mattered. Especially not killing NPCs—that was the biggest mistake a player could make. Murdering even a single villager instantly marked one as a criminal-Of course only if it was witnessed by others, still the civilian will be missing and it will raise suspicioun, if caught permanently barring them from cities and settlements. Worse, high-leveled civilian fighters and law-abiding soldiers would actively hunt them down.

Sure, there were ways to level up through infamy, gaining access to unique quests and hidden mechanics, but it was a brutal path—one Kai wasn't interested in. Not when he knew that, if chosen for the offline event, he'd be meeting these NPC-like characters for real. It was better to study them properly now, to learn how they operated. These weren't just mindless game scripts; every important line of dialogue had real human data behind it.

"I told you not to go, didn't I?"

Uncle Liam's voice snapped Kai from his thoughts as the old man berated him for two minutes straight once he was back at his hut—almost exactly like that woman had scolded Deimos.

Kai supposed he deserved it. He had left the guy to carry two Chwinpakas home alone, after all. As punishment, Uncle Liam sent him to handle chores around the house and backyard, but at least the work came with rewards—basic items that would prove useful later. Before he knew it, night had fallen.

After dinner, Kai was finally left alone in his small hut. He used the opportunity to immediately slip out toward the forest.

He had wanted to do this since the beginning, but staying put had seemed wiser—who knew what important lessons or events he might have missed in the village? Now that the day was over, though, there was no reason to delay. 

No matter what was going on in this game and timeline, he needed to get stronger.

Maybe others had returned, and maybe he could find them. But he had to be ready to do this alone if necessary.

Would he still walk into that government room, the one where they had been invited by the Beyonders, knowing where they would end up?

No.

This game's title was Nyxfall 7: The Veilbreakers. Assuming Veilbreakers referred to people who retained memories of the past—like him and Deimos—then there couldn't be just two of them.

If others were here, they could handle the bigger picture. Kai didn't have to involve himself. He could just focus on doing his best in the game, giving humans the best chance at survival and not go.

He could not lose his mother again.

Who knew what had happened on Earth after they had been gone for over seven years?

But he couldn't just relax and hope things would work out. He had to be prepared for any situation.

Kai unslung his bow, keeping the small wooden toy sword ready as well—just in case this triggered a quest. Then, he began hunting. He had seen plenty of beasts in the morning, roaming the vast forest beyond the village. He knew they were out there.

The atmosphere was eerie, but in the end, this was still just a game. He can always revive. 

Far less terrifying than what he had faced in real life.