The sight before him made Divine King's heart race.
The Dark Tide invading reality had been an enduring joke on the forum.
And that joke had originated with him.
When he first entered Monster World, he had used that very pitch to recruit players on the forum after founding the Divine Hall Guild.
He had joked that when the Dark Tide invaded reality in the future, he would lead the guild's players to the throne and face the Dark Tide head-on.
A youthful joke had become a cruel reality a hundred years later.
At that moment, he almost felt as though he were trapped in an absurd dream.
Or perhaps he had grown too old, his mind failing him, and was hallucinating.
His gaze fixed on the sky.
The sky curtain shattered layer by layer, and thick black fog poured down.
The city shield was rising, shutting out the Dark Tide's terrifying might.
The familiar aura of darkness seeped through the city barrier, carrying the Dark Tide's baleful qi across planes and spreading through the heavens.
The Dark Tide calamity, which had existed only in a virtual plane, had pierced the virtual-real barrier and descended upon the mortal world.
His aged heart pounded against his chest, his old body heaving violently. "Nothing could be more absurd than this." He murmured under his breath, still struggling to accept the reality before him.
After a brief daze, he suppressed the dull pain in his chest, braced himself against the window frame, and slowly turned. With a wave of his aged arm, he activated the living room's holographic image.
Blue light lit up, and a live news broadcast abruptly appeared.
The anchor on the screen had disheveled makeup, and barely concealed terror lurked in her eyes, but she did her best to remain