THE SECRET
824 Words
Patrick stared at the notification.
You were not chosen by the Golden Zone.
The Golden Zone was created to find you.
For several seconds, he couldn't breathe.
The words remained suspended before his eyes, glowing with a golden light that seemed brighter than everything else around him.
"What does that mean?" he whispered.
The ruined chamber had vanished.
The crimson eye was gone.
The collapsing walls were gone.
Patrick now stood alone in a vast white space that stretched endlessly in every direction.
Adrian was nowhere to be seen.
The only thing in front of him was the notification.
Again and again, he read it.
The Golden Zone was created to find him.
It was impossible.
The Golden Zone had millions of participants.
Entire cities existed within it.
Powerful organizations controlled enormous resources.
How could all of that exist because of one ordinary man?
A new message appeared.
Special Information Unlocked.
Accessing Historical Records...
Patrick watched as images materialized in the air.
At first, they were blurry.
Then they became clear.
He saw a massive hall made of gold.
Dozens of people sat around a circular table.
Each person radiated an overwhelming presence.
Some looked human.
Others did not.
Their expressions were tense.
Fearful.
One elderly man stood.
"We have found traces of the Child."
The entire room fell silent.
Patrick frowned.
The Child?
Another person spoke.
"If he awakens, everything ends."
A woman wearing silver armor nodded.
"The Watchers are already searching."
The elderly man slammed his hand onto the table.
"Then we must find him first."
The vision froze.
Patrick's pulse quickened.
A final image appeared.
A golden symbol.
The exact same symbol he had seen in the strange memory during the survival quest.
The vision shattered.
Patrick staggered backward.
His head hurt.
Questions filled his mind.
Who was the Child?
Why were the Watchers searching?
And why did those people seem terrified?
Suddenly, another voice spoke.
"Interesting."
Patrick spun around.
A young woman stood several meters away.
She appeared to be about his age.
Long black hair flowed behind her.
Her silver eyes seemed almost unnatural.
Most importantly, she hadn't been there a moment ago.
Patrick instinctively stepped back.
"Who are you?"
The woman smiled.
"My name is Elena."
"Participant?"
She nodded.
"Rank 47."
Patrick blinked.
Rank 47?
Out of more than two million participants?
That was absurdly high.
Elena studied him carefully.
"So you're Patrick Han."
The way she said his name made him uncomfortable.
"You know me?"
"Everyone important does now."
Patrick's stomach tightened.
That wasn't good news.
Not at all.
Elena crossed her arms.
"The moment the Watcher appeared, every major faction in the Golden Zone received an alert."
Patrick didn't like where this was going.
"What kind of alert?"
The woman smiled.
"The alert that a legend might have returned."
Patrick groaned.
"Can somebody please explain what's happening?"
Elena laughed.
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because nobody knows."
That answer was somehow worse.
Before Patrick could continue, a loud chime echoed through the white space.
A massive notification appeared overhead.
Unlike the previous messages, this one was visible across the entire sky.
---
GLOBAL ANNOUNCEMENT
Special Title Holder Detected
Participant Patrick Han
Title: The Watched One
Reward Package Granted
---
Patrick's eyes widened.
"Oh no."
The notification continued.
---
Current Attention Ranking
Patrick Han: #1
---
Silence.
Then Elena started laughing.
Hard.
Patrick wasn't amused.
"What is so funny?"
She wiped tears from her eyes.
"Do you realize what just happened?"
Patrick already suspected he wouldn't like the answer.
"You became the most famous participant in the Golden Zone."
His face fell.
"That's bad, isn't it?"
"Very."
A second notification appeared.
---
Incoming Friend Requests
9,843
Incoming Partnership Requests
3,119
Incoming Challenge Requests
17,204
---
Patrick stared at the numbers.
His brain stopped working.
Seventeen thousand challenge requests?
Who had time for that?
Elena looked delighted by his reaction.
"You've become a celebrity."
"I don't want to be a celebrity."
"Too late."
The notifications kept arriving.
More and more.
Thousands every second.
Then suddenly everything stopped.
The sky darkened.
A new notification appeared.
Unlike the others, it was red.
---
URGENT NOTICE
A Supreme Participant Has Issued A Direct Challenge
---
Elena's smile disappeared instantly.
The atmosphere changed.
Even Patrick could feel it.
This notification was different.
Dangerous.
The red message continued.
---
Challenger: Unknown
Rank: Supreme
Response Required Within 24 Hours
Refusal Penalty: Elimination
---
Patrick's heart nearly stopped.
"Elimination?"
Elena's expression turned grim.
"There are only seventeen Supreme Participants in existence."
"And?"
She looked directly into his eyes.
"They're the strongest people in the entire Golden Zone."
Patrick stared at the challenge notification.
He had only been inside the Golden Zone for a few hours.
And already one of the seventeen strongest participants wanted him dead.
At the bottom of the screen, a final message appeared.
Challenge Message:
'I've finally found you.'
Patrick's blood ran cold.
Because those were the exact words spoken by the crimson eye.
- Writer
