Zupud

Alexander, a man mysteriously summoned to a strange and dangerous world, must navigate a perilous landscape filled with deadly creatures and cryptic trials set by an all-powerful system. As he grows stronger, he uncovers the secret of the “Game of Eternity” and learns that survival depends not only on defeating monsters but also on finding the right allies—while being wary of those who may turn into enemies. With each trial, Alexander must decide how far he’s willing to go to survive and, perhaps, find a way back home.

The System Of Eternity

The room was dark, lit only by the glow of the ancient terminal pulsing with the foreign glyph.

Alexander stood still, eyes narrowed as the sigil twisted—alive, like it knew it was being watched. It wasn't data. Not fully. It was a symbol… but also a signal.

A feeling crawled up his spine—not fear, not even unease. Just… awareness. As if something long dormant inside him had just blinked open.

Rael approached slowly. "That's not ours. I checked every archive in our network. No known cipher matches it."

"I know," Alexander muttered. "That's why it matters."

Mira was already running scans, but the device rejected them—subtly, almost politely. Each time she tried to decrypt it, the symbol shifted, realigned, evolved. The deeper she dug, the more it seemed to react.

"It's not hiding," she said quietly. "It's waiting."

Alexander reached out, not touching the screen, just hovering his hand over it. His Echo stirred in his chest—faint, hollow, but… echoing.

Then, the glyph unraveled. Not into words—but into memories.

Visions flickered in his mind—cracked mirrors reflecting lives he hadn't lived. A city with no name, burning in slow motion. A child whispering to a shadow. A woman made of white light, dissolving as she screamed soundlessly. And beneath it all—a signal. A low, rhythmic pulse like a second heartbeat.

"What did you see?" Mira asked, alarmed.

Alexander didn't answer right away. He looked to the screen again. The glyph had changed.

He clenched his jaw. He didn't know who these people were, or why they were watching him—but this wasn't a trap. It was a path.

"They're beneath us," he said slowly. "Not the rebels. Not the Loyalists. Something else. Something older."

"You're talking about The Pale," Rael muttered, frowning. "That's just a myth."

"No," Alexander said, his voice low, certain. "They're real. And they're watching me."

For the first time in days, his Echo pulsed on its own. Just for a moment. Faint… but alive.

"Gear up," he told them. "We're going below."

Glyphs In Static