The Thing of Primal Darkness

It's here, it's finally here. I wonder if this skeleton is that unknown entity.

Yang Qizhou felt his spirits soar.

Previous text had already hinted that the unknown entity in the River of Death had taken notice of his game character, and wooden boats had been vaguely appearing on the river's surface.

He had guessed back then that the River of Death might not just be a place for the character to die and respawn, but a massive map with its own exclusive plotline that simply hadn't been triggered yet.

Later, his character died a few more times and his soul arrived at the River of Death, but aside from the prompt "You have been noticed by an unknown entity," no plotlines were triggered.

Yang Qizhou had even thought he'd guessed wrong, and had been depressed about it for quite a while.

Now, it had finally arrived.

The pale text continued to refresh.

"You wanted to say to the skeleton, 'What are you looking at? Careful or I'll beat you up,' but you felt that this was their territory after all, and a strong dragon shouldn't bully the local snake, so you abandoned the idea."

"You watch the skeleton walk over."

"You ask, 'Does Your Excellency have business with me?'"

"The skeleton looks you over, curiosity flickering in its eye sockets where gray flames burn, but it soon shakes its head with a hint of disappointment."

"You are confused about what it is disappointed by and cannot help but ask aloud."

"The skeleton replies that you possess the aura of the 'Primal Darkness' and are the person 'we' are looking for, but you are still too weak—you are complete trash."

"The skeleton also expresses regret for having manifested this time."

What is "Primal Darkness"? I don't seem to have any related items on me, Yang Qizhou thought, scratching his head in confusion.

The game continued.

"You really want to beat up the skeleton in front of you, but thinking of the consequences of offending a 'Hidden Entity,' you wisely abandon the decision."

"You ask what 'Primal Darkness' is."

"The skeleton does not answer this question, but it does tell you its identity."

"The skeleton claims to be Archer, an Angel of Rest born in the Second Epoch, who founded the 'Society of Rest' at the beginning of this epoch to make preparations for the resurrection of the great 'Lord of the River of Death,' and is currently recruiting the necessary members."

"The skeleton expresses regret, as your strength is too pathetic to meet the requirements for recruitment, but it still gives you two choices."

"One: Offer up the item of 'Primal Darkness' on your person, and it will personally take action to convert you into an undead, granting you the qualifications to become an outer member of the 'Society of Rest'."

"Two: Hand over the item of 'Primal Darkness' on your person to contribute to the resurrection of the Lord of the River of Death, and you will receive its protection while walking the Ancient Earth."

Yang Qizhou frowned, feeling that there was something eerie between the lines.

An Angel of Rest born in the Second Epoch must have experienced several epoch shifts at the very least; he should be an ancient existence, yet this entrance was far too lacking in prestige. A skeletal form, wearing straw clothes, and his words didn't make the character feel the pressure of an angel-level being.

And these two choices—the prerequisite for both was to hand over the "Primal Darkness" item. Wasn't the motive a bit too blatant?

Yang Qizhou pondered carefully for a moment and decided to choose "Two."

He had thought it through: if this "Angel of Rest" Archer was telling the truth, then becoming an "undead" would likely mean being stuck in the River of Death forever.

Although the River of Death was a large map, the Ancient Earth, where the unknown and the mysterious coexisted, clearly held more possibilities.

As for the "Primal Darkness" item, Yang Qizhou didn't know what that referred to and didn't pay much mind to it.

Besides, even if he did care, there was nothing he could do. The game text only provided two choices, both of which required losing the "Primal Darkness" item. Unless he planned to stop playing [World of Weirdness], he had to choose one.

"You have chosen 'Two'."

"'Angel of Rest' Archer appreciates you and states that from now on, you will receive its protection while walking the Ancient Earth."

"'Angel of Rest' Archer takes away the 'Primal Darkness' item on your person."

"You have lost the 'Garment of the Hidden World'."

Wait, what?

The item of Primal Darkness refers to the [Garment of the Hidden World]? That was a quasi-legendary Old Day Item! Although its negative effects were terrifying, its power was equally immense. The game character had relied on it to cross the wilderness where the unknown and mysterious coexisted and reach Dark Fog Town.

Yang Qizhou's face turned black, and he was so angry he nearly spat out a mouthful of blood.

What made him even more furious was yet to come.

"You feel the gaze of the unknown entity in the River of Death once more."

"You suddenly realize that the skeleton before you is not the unknown entity you thought it was at all; perhaps even its identity as an 'Angel of Rest' was fabricated."

"You are furious and try to grab 'Angel of Rest' Archer."

"The other party lets out a 'Heh,' jumps into the River of Death, and disappears."

"The cawing of a crow echoes in your mind, and an eerie realization wells up from the bottom of your heart: you can choose to use the ability of the 'Doom-Bringing Raven' to return to the moment before you made your choice."

"So, explorer who has been thoroughly scammed, will you choose to return to the past, or watch helplessly as the 'Garment of the Hidden World' is swindled away?"

"Please make your choice."

What the hell!

Game, did you think the [Garment of the Hidden World] I obtained was too powerful and affected the game balance, so you pulled this stunt? This is playing way too dirty.

Yang Qizhou felt a surge of ruthlessness, his expression twisting as he chose to activate the ability of the Doom-Bringing Raven. This master has never suffered such a massive loss, he thought to himself. Even if I have to stop playing World of Weirdness and leave the text frozen at this moment forever, I am getting the Garment of the Hidden World back.

"The Doom-Bringing Raven takes effect. You have returned to the moment before you made your last choice..."

"You have regained the Garment of the Hidden World."

"The mysterious skeleton calling itself the Angel of Rest, Archer, appears before you once again, and just like in the previous timeline, presents you with two choices."

"One: Offer up the item of Primal Darkness on your person. He will personally take action to transform you into an undead, granting you the qualifications to become an outer member of the Society of Rest."

"Two: Hand over the item of Primal Darkness on your person to contribute to the resurrection of the Lord of the River of Death. You will receive his protection while walking upon the Ancient Earth."

"Possessing the memories of the previous timeline, you know full well that this skeleton is coveting your Garment of the Hidden World."

"A new possibility branches out; you now have a third choice."

"Use the Stone of Truth to ask for the true origin of the Angel of Rest, Archer. However, this may provoke his wrath. If the opponent is truly an ancient existence born in the Second Epoch, your situation will become extremely dangerous."

"Please make your choice."

Yang Qizhou chose "three" without a moment's hesitation, activating the effect of the Stone of Truth.

He had originally intended to reject both options; once the save-load had returned the Garment of the Hidden World to his hands, he planned to just stall for time. Now that a third option had appeared, he naturally had to give it a try.

The worst that could happen was death.

If you die, you die; if you survive, you live for ten thousand years.

Only a coward would back down now.

"You refuse to hand over the item of Primal Darkness and activate the effect of the Stone of Truth. For the next five minutes, the Angel of Rest, Archer, must answer the questions you pose and is unable to lie."

"You glare at him and ask for the true identity of the skeleton before you."

"He reveals the truth."

"It turns out he is not an Angel of Rest born in the Second Epoch at all, but an explorer from another world. Due to coming into contact with a holy relic dedicated to the God of Fate, he transmigrated to the Ancient Earth and, through a stroke of coincidence, was reincarnated as one of the People of the River of Death."

An explorer from another world?

Yang Qizhou shuddered; this was actually a player.

"You continue to ask him why he has set his sights on you."

"The opponent replies that every time you arrive at the River of Death, the 'Old Gods' sleeping within the river react without fail. Therefore, he guessed that you possess something related to an item of Primal Darkness, and he wants to obtain this treasure."

"Because of the fate reset, the opponent has lost his memories regarding the Garment of the Hidden World and is unaware of the attributes of this 'quasi-legendary' Old Day Item."

"You continue to press him: 'What does Primal Darkness refer to?'"

"The opponent indicates that he does not know either, only having learned from other People of the River of Death that the unknown gods and ancient rulers within the River of Death all crave items of Primal Darkness."

Meanwhile, in a certain residential complex.

The chubby boy was drenched in sweat, tapping his phone screen incessantly and shouting like a madman: "Holy crap, stop it already! My underwear is about to be seen through!"