THE CRIMSON EYE
801 Words
"Found you."
The voice echoed across the Golden Zone.
Every tower.
Every street.
Every participant heard it.
Patrick's blood turned cold.
The giant crimson eye stared directly at him from beyond the cracked sky.
Millions of people existed within the Golden Zone.
Yet somehow it had singled him out.
"Why is it looking at me?" Patrick whispered.
Beside him, Adrian's face had become pale.
The Gatekeeper's calm confidence had vanished.
For the first time, he looked afraid.
Very afraid.
"Impossible..."
Patrick turned toward him.
"What is that thing?"
Adrian didn't answer immediately.
His golden eyes remained fixed on the sky.
When he finally spoke, his voice was barely audible.
"A Watcher."
"A what?"
"A being that should not exist."
The crack above expanded.
Golden lightning collided with crimson energy.
The entire sky trembled.
Below, the city erupted into chaos.
People ran through the streets.
Alarms screamed from every tower.
Massive barriers began rising around important buildings.
Patrick could feel panic spreading everywhere.
The Watcher opened its eye wider.
The pressure alone nearly forced him to his knees.
It felt as though a mountain had been placed on his shoulders.
A new notification appeared.
---
WARNING
External Entity Detected
Threat Level: Catastrophic
All Participants Advised To Seek Shelter
---
Patrick swallowed hard.
"Catastrophic?"
The word wasn't reassuring.
Not even slightly.
The Watcher's voice echoed again.
"I finally found you."
Patrick's heart stopped.
It was definitely speaking to him.
"Me?"
Adrian grabbed Patrick's shoulder.
"We need to leave."
"Now."
Before Patrick could respond, the Gatekeeper snapped his fingers.
The world blurred.
The floating platform disappeared.
The city vanished.
Everything dissolved into golden light.
A second later Patrick found himself inside a small room.
The room was elegant but simple.
Bookshelves lined the walls.
Golden symbols glowed across the ceiling.
No windows existed.
No doors.
Only silence.
Patrick looked around in confusion.
"Where are we?"
"A secure chamber."
Adrian walked toward a shelf.
"At least it should be secure."
Patrick's breathing slowly calmed.
The pressure from the crimson eye was gone.
But the questions remained.
Too many questions.
"What did that thing mean?"
Adrian sighed.
"I don't know."
"You don't know?"
The Gatekeeper shook his head.
"No Watcher has ever targeted a beginner participant before."
Patrick frowned.
"What exactly are Watchers?"
Adrian remained silent.
For several moments he appeared to be debating whether to answer.
Eventually he did.
"Long ago, before the Golden Zone existed, there were beings that controlled fate itself."
Patrick stared.
"You're serious?"
"Unfortunately."
Adrian sat down.
"The founders of the Golden Zone stole power from those beings."
Patrick blinked.
"Stole?"
"Yes."
The Gatekeeper's voice became quieter.
"That is why the Watchers hate us."
A chill crawled down Patrick's spine.
This hidden world was becoming more dangerous with every answer.
Another notification appeared.
---
SPECIAL EVENT TRIGGERED
Hidden Condition Met
Participant Patrick Han Has Been Marked
---
Patrick's face fell.
"Marked?"
Adrian rushed toward him.
The Gatekeeper's eyes widened.
"No."
The notification continued.
---
Reward Granted
Unique Title Acquired
THE WATCHED ONE
---
Silence filled the room.
Patrick looked at Adrian.
Adrian looked at Patrick.
Neither spoke.
Finally Patrick broke the silence.
"Is that bad?"
Adrian laughed.
It wasn't a happy laugh.
"Bad?"
He rubbed his forehead.
"Patrick, there are over two million participants in the Golden Zone."
"Yes."
"In the last thousand years, nobody has ever received that title."
Patrick wished he hadn't asked.
The notification continued.
---
Title Effect Unknown
Future Consequences Unknown
Potential Benefits Unknown
---
"Great."
Patrick groaned.
"Even the system doesn't know what it does."
Suddenly the room shook.
Books fell from shelves.
The glowing symbols on the ceiling flickered.
Adrian's face darkened.
"That's not good."
A loud boom echoed through the chamber.
Then another.
And another.
Something was hitting the barriers protecting them.
Something powerful.
Patrick stared at the ceiling.
"You said this place was secure."
"It was."
The Gatekeeper moved toward the center of the room.
Golden energy gathered around his hands.
The impacts became stronger.
Cracks appeared across the glowing symbols.
Patrick's heart began racing.
"Tell me that isn't the Watcher."
Adrian remained silent.
That answer was enough.
The next impact shattered half the ceiling symbols.
Red light flooded into the room.
Patrick looked up.
And froze.
A small crack had appeared in the air itself.
Inside that crack was the crimson eye.
Watching him.
Again.
A notification exploded across Patrick's vision.
---
EMERGENCY QUEST
Survive For 10 Minutes
Reward: 1,000 Credits
Failure: Death
Accept?
YES
---
Patrick's eyes widened.
There was no NO option.
Only YES.
The countdown immediately started.
09:59
09:58
09:57
Patrick felt his stomach drop.
The real Golden Zone had finally begun.
Patrick's first true quest has appeared—and failure means death. Can a complete beginner survive ten minutes against a creature feared by the entire Golden Zone?
- Writer
