Chapter 62 — Misty Hills
My head felt like it had been split open.
“Ah…”
I grabbed my forehead, wincing as a dull ache pulsed behind my eyes.
“Where am I?”
The ceiling above me was stone. Cracked. Ancient. Moss crept between the gaps. The air smelled damp — like old rain and rusted iron.
A fortress.
An old one.
I slowly turned my head.
Volt was sitting beside the bed in a wooden chair, arms crossed.
“Ah. You’re awake,” he said calmly.
“How long…?”
“Three days.”
I froze.
“Three days?!” I pushed myself up too fast — and nearly collapsed from dizziness.
Volt caught my shoulder.
“Easy.”
“What happened? Where are we?” I asked quickly. “What about the others?”
“While escaping the capital, we got separated from the main group,” Volt explained. “But I contacted Captain Chaxti. The destination remains the same — we’re heading to main HQ.”
I tried standing again.
Pain shot through my side.
I almost fell.
Volt sighed. “You were imprisoned, tortured, and dragged through a collapsing building. Maybe rest?”
I ignored him.
Something hit me.
“Wait.”
Memory returned like a blade.
The explosion.
The smoke.
The blue sword.
“Volt.”
He already knew what I was going to ask.
“…What happened to SK?”
He didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, he stood up, walked to a small table, and picked up a folded newspaper.
He handed it to me.
Empire Daily.
The headline read:
“Factory Accident Causes Structural Collapse — Minor Monster Incident Contained.”
I frowned.
“Factory accident?” I muttered. “Mass monster spawning… and they call it an accident?”
“They buried it,” Volt said quietly. “The portal reopening. The Resistance infiltration. Everything.”
“Of course they did,” I muttered.
The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.
“Keep reading.”
My eyes moved lower.
And stopped.
“Casualties include multiple Imperial soldiers. Officer SK the Reaper — Missing in Action.”
The words blurred.
“No.”
My grip tightened around the paper.
“No, this can’t be…”
Missing in action.
That meant one of two things.
Dead fighting that monster.
Or silenced by the Empire.
Volt grabbed my shoulders gently.
“Hey.”
“Volt, what are you trying to say?” My voice trembled.
“In other words,” he said carefully, “she’s alive.”
I blinked.
“What?”
“The Northern Faction arrived as reinforcements,” he explained. “They subdued the Void entity with help from someone you absolutely know.”
My breath caught.
“Blaze…”
Volt nodded slightly.
“And the Empire wouldn’t eliminate SK easily. She’s too valuable.”
The weight in my chest loosened — just a little.
“But don’t relax yet,” Volt added.
He handed me another paper.
A wanted poster.
WANTED — STARLINK SNIPER
Dead or Alive
I stared at my own face printed beneath the words.
“They’re serious now,” Volt said.
I let out a slow breath.
“So… it’s just us?” I asked quietly. “Only the two of us left?”
Volt gave me a strange look.
“…Can you walk?”
“Why?”
“Because it’s easier if you see for yourself.”
I pushed myself up again.
Pain stabbed through my arm.
The wounds still hadn’t fully healed.
“Need help?” Volt asked.
“I’ve got it.”
I slowly made my way down the stone staircase.
Voices echoed faintly from below.
Familiar.
Too familiar.
Blaze?
No.
He wouldn’t show up now.
Not after—
I reached the door.
Grabbed the handle.
Opened it.
And froze.
There he was.
Old-fashioned armor.
Blue sword resting at his side.
Black hair falling loosely around his face.
“Blaze!” I shouted immediately. “Why did you order SK to save me? She’s in trouble because of—”
I stopped.
His armor was damaged.
Cracked.
His clothes torn.
His body exhausted.
“…Blaze?”
He gave me a small, tired smile.
“Let’s just say… things got messy fighting that thing again.”
“You’re still stubborn as ever,” I muttered, my voice softer now.
So he was there.
All along.
Did he let SK make her own choice?
Did he know she would?
“One more thing,” Blaze added. “I didn’t order SK to do anything.”
I looked at him.
“She made that decision herself.”
Relief flooded my chest.
“Don’t worry,” he said. “She’s safe. You’re overthinking.”
I finally exhaled fully.
The weight I’d been carrying loosened.
Then—
Clapping echoed from the corner of the room.
“Well,” a smooth voice said. “What a touching scene.”
I turned.
A man stepped forward in a well-dressed Imperial uniform.
Polished. Decorated.
Confident.
“I’m impressed,” he continued. “Even after Blaze freed you and got caught by the Empire later… the loyalty remains.”
“Who is this?” I asked sharply.
He bowed slightly.
“Commander Vortex of the Empire.”
My eyes widened.
“Commander?!”
“Relax,” Blaze said casually. “He’s on our side.”
“For now.”
“For now?” I repeated.
Volt avoided my gaze.
“So you’re the contact?” I asked him.
Vortex chuckled.
“Are all Resistance soldiers this loud?”
He walked forward slowly.
“You’re fortunate Frostbyte didn’t execute you immediately, Starborn.”
My jaw tightened.
Vortex continued.
“In the coming days, the Empire will hold a meeting. Ordered by the Head Master himself.”
“The Head Master?” I frowned. “SK tried explaining that once. I didn’t fully understand.”
Blaze leaned against the wall.
“The Empire isn’t unified,” he said. “It’s divided by power.”
Vortex nodded.
“Multiple Grand Masters. Each controlling a capital city. Strategically separated.”
He projected a map onto the floor.
The entire world of SkyRealm spread beneath us.
He pointed.
“We’re here. Misty Hills.”
He traced north.
“Continue north, and you’ll reach the Sea Borders.”
He tapped the ocean area.
“Beyond that… other game territories.”
His finger moved again.
BATTLE NET.
A war-zone FPS realm.
“For now, you’re outside the Empire’s core territory,” Vortex said. “But don’t let your guard down. They will move soon.”
He looked at Blaze.
“Well. You’re on your own now.”
“The next time we meet… we may be on opposite sides.”
Blaze nodded once.
A silent understanding.
Vortex turned to leave.
I followed him outside.
“Wait,” I called. “Why is the Empire so obsessed with Blaze? Why are they desperate to uncover his past?”
I stopped mid-step.
Two figures stood nearby.
Familiar ones.
ArcticTemplar.
Blockade.
ArcticTemplar’s cold gaze fell on me.
“Starborn,” he said flatly.
A chilling wind swept across the courtyard.
Vortex glanced at him.
Immediately, ArcticTemplar lowered his eyes.
“My apologies, Commander.”
Vortex turned back to me.
“You want to know why?” he asked calmly.
“Because he has none.”
My breath hitched.
“When Frostbyte asked for records,” Vortex continued, “we found nothing.”
“Not in the Great War.”
“Not in any guild logs.”
“Not in any veteran database.”
He pulled a small silver watch from his coat.
“Is he truly a SkyRealm veteran?” he asked softly. “Even I don’t know.”
He looked back at Blaze.
“Blaze is the kind of player you don’t involve yourself with.”
“I helped because he did us a favor.”
With that—
He vanished.
Teleportation flash.
Gone.
I stood there in silence.
Commander Vortex…
A veteran of the Great War.
A name I’d heard before.
I looked around the fortress walls.
The mist rolled gently over the hills.
No Imperial banners.
No golden towers.
No surveillance drones.
“…We’re really out of the Empire,” I whispered.
For the first time in a long while—
It felt real.
