Daric, Kaelen, and the buff goat plunged through the new portal, expecting the usual chaos.
Instead, they landed with surprising grace onto the cold, black stone.
The air was still. Heavy.
Above them stretched a vast, endless sky filled with swirling constellations—and no sun.
The only illumination came from eerie silver lights embedded into the landscape like fallen stars.
A new system notification appeared:
[Welcome to the Realm of Eternal Night.]
[Warning: Light Sources Limited. Danger Level: High.]
[Objective: Retrieve the Shard of the Sleeping Moon.]
Daric adjusted his grip on the Fancy Cane of Diplomacy.
"Okay," he muttered. "Cool. We went from falling to probable vampirism."
Kaelen pulled a flowstone from his pack, tossing it in the air where it hovered and cast a dim circle of light.
The buff goat simply stood proud, his muscles somehow absorbing the moonlight like a divine sponge.
—
Status Update:
Name: DaricClass: Primal Hunter (Legendary)Titles: Chickenbane, Monarch Slayer, Brunchbreaker, Stuffing Slayer, Realmwalker, The Ridiculous One, Mirror Breaker, SkybreakerEssence Total: 545,000Primary Weapon: Shovel of Destiny (Enhanced)Secondary Weapon: Fancy Cane of DiplomacyLevel: 52Ascended Realms: 7Ascension Authority: 35%Companions: Kaelen (Frying Pan Crusader), Buff Goat (Lord of Gains)
—
As they ventured forward, strange creatures lurked in the shadows.
Eyes gleamed.
Voices whispered.
At one point, a small, shadowy squirrel tried to mug Daric for his boots.
Daric responded by throwing the squirrel into low orbit with a swift swing of his cane.
[Skill Gained: Anti-Squirrel Specialist]
[+5% Accuracy Against Small Annoyances]
Kaelen laughed for five solid minutes.
—
The deeper they traveled, the stranger things became.
Islands of rock floated lazily in the air, connected by bridges made of woven starlight.
Phantom cities glimmered in the distance, each seemingly abandoned, their windows glowing like hollow eyes.
And always, the whispering grew louder.
Daric couldn't shake the feeling they were being watched.
—
Halfway to their objective, they encountered their first major threat.
A group of humanoid figures emerged from the mist: warriors clad in midnight armor faces hidden behind blank, silver masks.
Their leader stepped forward, voice cold and echoing.
"Who dares walk the paths of the Sleeper?"
Daric raised a hand.
"Daric. Professional mistake-maker."
Kaelen saluted casually.
The buff goat flexed.
The silver-masked leader nodded once.
"Then face the Trial of Shadows."
System notification:
[Event Triggered: Trial of Shadows]
[Defeat the Nightwardens to Proceed.]
Daric sighed. "Of course."
—
The battle was brutal.
The Nightwardens fought with twin blades that shimmered with cold light.
Their movements were almost impossible to predict.
Daric relied on instinct and sheer stubbornness, parrying strikes with the Shovel of Destiny and counterattacking with wild, unorthodox moves.
Kaelen wielded his frying pan like a symphony of chaos, knocking weapons aside and battering enemies with vicious glee.
The buff goat launched himself into the fray, headbutting masked warriors into low earth orbit.
The Nightwarden leader proved trickier.
He manipulated shadows themselves, forming tendrils that tried to drag Daric into the ground.
But Daric had one advantage the Nightwarden lacked: absolute, world-class pettiness.
"Not today!" he roared, swinging his cane like a madman.
With a final, explosive shove, he shattered the leader's mask, revealing only swirling mist inside.
The Nightwardens dissolved into nothingness.
System chimed:
[Trial of Shadows Completed.]
[Essence Gained: 50,000]
[Title Unlocked: Breaker of Masks]
—
Beyond the battlefield, a path of solid moonlight formed.
At the end of it floated a crystalline pedestal.
Resting atop it: the Shard of the Sleeping Moon.
It pulsed softly, radiating calm, ancient power.
Daric approached cautiously.
"If this thing explodes," he said, "I'm blaming the goat."
Kaelen nodded sagely.
The buff goat simply posed heroically.
Daric reached out and grasped the shard.
Immediately, visions flooded his mind:
Towering beings of starlight forging realms from dust.Dark forces clawing at the edges of reality.Himself—standing atop a mountain, wielding a weapon made of pure, condensed nonsense.
System screamed with excitement:
[Shard of the Sleeping Moon Acquired!]
[Ascension Authority Increased to 40%!]
[Skill Unlocked: Moonveil — Create a field of moonlight that blinds enemies and heals allies.]
Daric staggered back, blinking.
Kaelen caught him.
"You good?"
Daric grinned. "Better than good. I just leveled up in weirdness."
The buff goat nodded solemnly as if approving Daric's evolution into an even more confusing life form.
—
The Shard pulsed again, opening a gleaming portal at the far end of the platform.
Their path forward.
Daric tucked the Shard into his pack and turned to his companions.
"Next world?"
Kaelen spun his frying pan. "Let's break it."
The buff goat bleated dramatically.
Together, they stepped through.
Because no realm, no matter how eternal or dark, could out-weird them.
Not anymore.