MMORPG: REBORN MARK ADVENTURE IN ONLINE GAME

The air near the edge of the abyss was wrong. It clung to Raven's skin like a second layer, an invisible weight pressing against his bones. The cold wasn't just cold—it carried an intent, a quiet hunger that made the back of his neck prickle.

He had been here before. Not in this exact place, not in this exact life, but he knew this sensation. A memory, tangled between past and present, whispered of something waiting below.

Something patient.

Something aware.

His fingers hovered near his dagger. A useless instinct, maybe, but instinct nonetheless.

A few feet away, Mist Low was still grinning, but it was thinner now, less careless. "So, what's the call, fearless leader?"

Raven didn't answer immediately. His gaze remained locked on the abyss, where darkness pooled unnaturally deep, refusing to be illuminated by their torches. It was like staring into something that refused to be perceived.

Not yet.

They had barely survived the Slumbering One. Jumping down now was suicide. But leaving it unchecked meant someone else might find it. Or worse—something might come out.

Liz let out a slow breath. "You're stalling."

He didn't deny it.

Ana rubbed her arms. "It feels… off. Even magic feels weird near it."

Daniel took a cautious step back. "Yeah? Then let's not do the idiot thing and jump in."

Mist Low rolled his shoulders, but his usual amusement didn't quite return. "I'd usually vote for 'do the idiot thing,' but even I'm getting some bad juju from this place."

That was all Raven needed to hear.

He reached into his inventory and pulled out a small marking stone. Kneeling, he pressed it to the ground near the abyss's edge. The rune on its surface glowed faintly before fading, sinking into the dirt.

A tracking mark.

If anything moved down there—if something tried to crawl out—he'd know.

For now, that was the best he could do.

"Let's go," he ordered.

Liz was the first to step away. Ana and Daniel didn't hesitate to follow.

Mist Low lingered.

Golden eyes flickered between Raven and the abyss. When he finally spoke, his voice was quieter than before. "You're coming back here," he said, not a question. A statement.

Raven met his gaze. "Eventually."

Mist Low's grin sharpened. "Then I call dibs on your last words when it eats you."

Raven snorted. "I'll make sure they're dramatic."

They turned away, leaving the abyss behind.

For now.

---

Phase 7: The Watcher in the Ruins

Raven stopped.

At first, he thought it was a trick of the lingering mist, a shape formed by shadows and shifting light. But no—the figure was real. Standing near the collapsed entrance of Poison Cave, unmoving. Watching.

An old man.

His robes were worn and tattered, darkened with time and dirt. Long silver hair draped over his shoulders, unkempt yet deliberate, as if he had long stopped caring about vanity. His face was lined with age, sharp but composed, eyes half-lidded in quiet thought.

A staff rested in his grip. He didn't hold it like a warrior ready for battle—no, this was the stance of an observer, someone who had seen too much and intervened too little.

But what unsettled Raven the most were his eyes.

A pale, almost hollow silver.

They settled on Raven with an unreadable intensity.

Then the old man spoke.

"Have you destroyed the Poison Guardian?"

The words sent an immediate chill through Raven's spine.

His fingers twitched toward his dagger. Behind him, Mist Low's easy stance stiffened, and Liz's fingers curled subtly near her blades.

Raven's voice was calm, controlled. "Who's asking?"

The old man didn't answer immediately. Instead, he studied them—each of them. His gaze lingered on Ana's staff, on Daniel's bow, on Liz's daggers. He spent the longest on Mist Low, something unreadable flickering across his face before moving on.

Then, he exhaled.

"It does not matter who I am." His voice carried a quiet finality. "Only that you understand what you have done."

Raven didn't like the way he said that.

Liz crossed her arms. "If you mean that thing in the cave, yeah. It's dead."

For the first time, the old man's expression shifted.

Something between relief and regret.

"…Then it begins."

Raven's pulse ticked up a fraction. His grip on his dagger tightened. "What begins?"

The old man closed his eyes, his expression unreadable. He tilted his head slightly, as if listening to something only he could hear.

When he spoke again, his voice was lower.

"The Poison Guardian was a lock."

Silence.

A heartbeat. Then another.

Daniel frowned. "A lock…?"

Ana inhaled sharply. "You mean—"

The old man opened his eyes again. This time, the quiet intensity in them burned sharper. Cold silver locked onto Raven.

"You have broken the first seal."

And beneath their feet—

Something stirred.

A deep, distant tremor.

Not a quake, not the shifting of stone, but something slower, something alive. The air thickened, a strange, almost imperceptible pull in the atmosphere. The torches flickered, their flames bending unnaturally before steadying again.

Raven's mind raced.

He had felt this before.

Not in this exact place. Not in this exact moment.

But he knew.

Whatever they had just set in motion…

It wasn't over.

And it had only just begun.

Note : do you like this twist

What will raven will face next comment guys just I had little idea if it correct 10 bonus chapters