Chapter 29: Echoes of Power

Les woke up the next morning feeling drained. His body ached, a dull pain that seemed to throb beneath his skin. The events of the previous night played over and over in his head—the ancient words, the surge of power, the blood. The taste of iron still lingered faintly on his tongue.

He sat up slowly, blinking against the harsh light filtering in through the blinds. The physical toll from using the ancient tongue was still with him. Even though it had been hours since he attempted to speak the dragon language, his chest felt tight, and his muscles were sore, as if he'd run a marathon.

It wasn't just a game.

That thought haunted him. The virtual world had bled into the real one, and the implications were terrifying. He couldn't shake the feeling that he had crossed a line, a boundary between reality and the game that wasn't supposed to exist.

As he moved to get out of bed, his legs felt weak, but the sense of determination from before still burned in his chest. Despite the danger, despite the pain, there was a thrill in knowing that he had touched something greater. Power. Real power. And if that was possible, what else could he unlock? He wasn't going to let fear stop him from exploring this newfound connection.

But before anything else, he needed answers. He couldn't just stumble blindly through the game anymore. He had to understand why this was happening. Was Ancient Arena Online designed this way, or had something gone wrong?

Les paced around his apartment, his mind racing as he considered his next move. He couldn't risk trying the ancient tongue again—not without learning more about it first. But where could he start? The game had extensive lore, but he'd never paid much attention to it before. Maybe there were clues hidden in plain sight.

The developers. That was his first thought. If anyone knew the truth about the game's deeper mechanics, it would be the people who created it. But reaching out to them would be impossible. The major VR companies were as secretive as they were powerful, and as an exiled bastard of the industry, Les wasn't exactly in a position to make inquiries.

His mind drifted back to his time in The Hub, the game he had once been so close to, the game he had helped develop as an apprentice. If only he could access the connections he had back then. But no—his father had made sure that door was sealed shut.

Still, there were other ways. If he couldn't talk to the developers directly, then he would dive into the lore himself. He would become a student of the game, studying every corner, every story, every whisper of the ancient powers. The answer had to be there somewhere.

Resolved, Les strapped on his VR headset, mentally preparing himself to dive back into Ancient Arena Online. The digital world flickered to life, surrounding him once more in its vivid, hyper-realistic glory. This time, though, it didn't feel like just a game. It felt like an extension of reality, a place where the rules he thought he knew were beginning to unravel.

The cityscape appeared before him, bustling with players and NPCs alike, but Les's eyes were distant, scanning for something deeper beneath the surface. He wandered through the crowded streets, his focus inward, replaying the words of the dragon tongue in his mind. He could feel them lurking there, just out of reach, like a forbidden secret waiting to be unlocked.

After a while, Les found himself standing at the edge of the marketplace, staring up at a massive stone archway leading to the Ancient Archives, one of the game's more mysterious locations. He hadn't paid much attention to it before, but now it called to him.

He stepped through the archway, the sound of bustling crowds fading behind him as the air grew still and heavy. The interior of the Ancient Archives was dimly lit, towering shelves filled with ancient tomes and scrolls lining the walls. NPC scholars wandered the halls, quietly tending to the knowledge stored within.

Les walked deeper into the library, his eyes scanning the rows of ancient texts. Somewhere in here, there had to be something about the dragon language—about what it could do. He approached a tall shelf and began searching for anything that looked relevant.

After what felt like hours of skimming through dusty tomes and obscure texts, Les finally found something—a book titled "The Forgotten Tongue of Dragons." His heart skipped a beat as he pulled it from the shelf, the leather-bound cover soft beneath his fingers. He opened it carefully, flipping through the pages until his eyes landed on a passage that seemed familiar:

"The language of the dragons is not merely a means of communication. It is a conduit of power, a force that can bend reality itself. Those who speak it must tread carefully, for the words of the ancient tongue carry both strength and danger."

Les's breath caught in his throat as he read. The text went on to explain how the dragon language wasn't just a tool for combat within the game—it was a fundamental part of the world's structure. Speaking the words aloud could affect not only the virtual world but also the mind and body of the user.

It was exactly what had happened to him in the real world.

A chill ran down his spine as he continued reading. The more he learned, the more dangerous the dragon language seemed. It was no wonder that most players never accessed it—it required a deep understanding of the game's lore and an almost reckless disregard for personal safety.

But the final line of the passage stopped him cold:

"Some believe that the ancient tongue was not created for the game at all. It is said that the language predates the virtual world, echoing from a time long forgotten."

Les's hands shook as he closed the book, his mind racing. If that was true—if the dragon language wasn't just a piece of game lore but something that existed outside the virtual world—then the implications were staggering.

Could the power he had felt be real?

He backed away from the shelf, his thoughts spinning. Everything he had experienced so far had been strange enough, but this was different. If the dragon language had real-world consequences, then the barrier between the game and reality wasn't just blurred—it was crumbling.

Les exited the Ancient Archives in a daze, walking through the crowded streets of the game without really seeing anything. The dragon's words pulsed in his mind, and for the first time, he felt afraid.

This wasn't just a quest. It wasn't just about becoming the best player. Something far more dangerous was at play, and he was caught in the middle of it.