Chapter 12: The Forgotten Field
"Kuya… where the hell are we?"
Accel's voice echoed as we stood in a strange new zone, one that definitely wasn't on the official EOPH map. The place was hauntingly quiet. The sky above us was frozen in an unnatural twilight, neither day nor night. There was no sun, no moon—just this… dull indigo hue like the aftermath of a storm.
The ground beneath our feet was a mix of cracked stone and overgrown moss, like an ancient battlefield left to rot. Massive swords and spears jutted out of the earth like grave markers. Far in the distance, ruined towers slanted like they were about to fall at any moment. The air felt heavy, almost like it carried the weight of countless forgotten memories.
"I think… we triggered a hidden map," I muttered, cautiously stepping forward. "Something like a remnant field…?"
Accel narrowed his eyes and summoned his interface. "No zone name. No coordinates. It's like we're off the grid."
A chill ran down my spine. This wasn't part of the usual VRMMO content. And the portal that brought us here? Gone. No way back unless we found another exit.
We decided to move forward, sticking close. The ruins grew denser, and the deeper we went, the more surreal everything became. There were stone statues scattered around—warriors with broken blades, mages turned to stone mid-cast, and beasts frozen in agony. It felt like they were watching us.
"Creepy…" Accel whispered. "These… aren't just decor. They're like… players or AI turned into stone."
A familiar voice suddenly whispered in my head.
"Those who challenged the Rain Maker… those who failed…"
I froze. "Did you hear that?"
Accel slowly nodded. "Yeah. That wasn't system audio, was it?"
"Nope. And I hate this already."
We pushed forward until we reached a circle of monoliths. In the center, a large sigil was engraved into the ground, pulsing faintly with violet light. As soon as we stepped closer, the temperature dropped, and a storm brewed overhead. Lightning cracked across the indigo sky.
From the center of the sigil, a figure rose.
It wasn't a mob. It wasn't even human.
The being floated just slightly off the ground. Its body was wrapped in tattered robes that moved like mist, and its face was a smooth white mask with no eyes—just a single blue line running down the center.
[Unknown Entity Detected]
[??? - Rain Maker Fragment]
Level: ???
"Oh crap," I hissed, grabbing my sword. "Boss encounter?"
"No… a fragment," Accel muttered, stepping beside me. "I think we're not here to fight. I think we're being tested."
The entity spoke—not with words, but with pressure. Our systems shook.
> "The Rain is not just water. It is memory. It is grief. It is the weight of forgotten code. You have entered the Field of Recollection."
If this is connected to the anomaly which is the Dark Matter Cloud then this is bad. No wonder all of those players that got caught almost lost their minds..
> "To move forward… show me your truth."
Suddenly, the sky shattered like glass—and I was alone.
---
I was back in school.
Real world. Real time. My old uniform. The messy chalkboard. That smell of cheap air freshener in the classroom. But I couldn't move. It was like my body was stuck in this frozen memory.
Across from me was a past version of myself—nervous, insecure, tapping his pen on the desk.
"I'm not good enough," he muttered. "Zeke's better. Everyone's getting stronger. I'm… just tagging along."
The memory hurt. Because it was real.
I tried to speak, but I couldn't. I wanted to shout at him—that I had changed. That I had stood beside them during the raids, during the Vault XII collapse. That I had fought the Executioner and lived.
But the past me couldn't hear me.
He just looked at me—and smiled.
"You're scared. But that's okay. Just don't forget why you play, Dan."
The world faded to black—and when I opened my eyes, I was back in the ruins.
Accel was already awake, panting. His eyes were wide.
"You too?" he asked.
"Yeah."
We turned to the entity. It simply nodded once—then shattered into dozens of blue fragments, leaving behind a glowing stone.
[You have obtained: Memory Fragment - Rain Maker]
[Item cannot be sold or destroyed.]
[Effect: Unlocks unknown feature during future system patch.]
"This is a chaotic item!" I said.
The ground trembled, and a new portal appeared where the entity once floated.
"Let's get outta here before this map decides to eat us alive," I said.
"Agreed."
We stepped into the light—uncertain of where we'd end up next.
---
We landed back in Hell Village with a crash. The familiar red sky and demonic architecture were a comforting sight after what we just went through.
I groaned, brushing off the dust. "Note to self: don't step on random portals again."
Accel chuckled. "You say that like we won't do it again."
"You got a point."
We were about to log off when a message popped up in front of us.
[Incoming Transmission from GM: Kaizen]
Both of us stiffened.
"Oh no…"
---
A flash of blue light—and GM Kaizen materialized right in front of us, arms crossed and looking extremely done with life.
"What the hell did you guys do this time?"
We both saluted out of instinct.
"Sir! It was an accident!"
Kaizen sighed and rubbed his temples. "Accident my ass. You two triggered a locked system vault. AGAIN. Do you have any idea how much stress you're giving Aero and Akil?"
Accel raised a hand sheepishly. "Uhm… at least we didn't blow up a zone this time?"
Kaizen shot us both a sharp glare. "You nearly caused a memory leak. That Rain Maker Fragment you pulled wasn't supposed to be accessed without Admin Key confirmation. That area you entered was part of the failed AWO-EOPH merge project. It's a zone that holds corrupted battle logs from the Old Worlds."
"AWO…" I blinked. "That's Another World Online, right?"
Kaizen nodded. "That place was sealed because it messes with the emotional core of players. You're lucky you weren't brain fried."
"Uh… sorry?" I said weakly.
"But isn't the Rain Maker is that one cloud anomaly?" I added.
"Nope, Someone just used that term to call that Dark Matter Cloud. We think it's just a botched replica of the original Rain Maker data. Rowan must be behind it."
He sighed again. "Anyway, damage is done. System's already scheduled for a reboot to clean the overflow. Again."
We both cringed.
"Seriously," Kaizen continued, "you, Zaphro and the rest of your party are like magnets for these anomalies. Speaking of which—after what happened in Vault XII, the dev team had to rewrite a new compatibility layer just so Zaphro and your accounts wouldn't crash the game entirely."
Accel raised an eyebrow. "Yeah—don't remind me of that GM."
Kaizen opened a floating terminal, showing our profiles. "You're not just players anymore. Your connection to the Enigma Core—the same one Gwydox and Eira linked to—has overwritten part of your base code."
"That sounds… dangerous, and FYI I just know it now. When was this Accel?" I muttered. I looked to Accel for an answer.
"It is. And, now you know Slicer. But we managed to salvage it. They'll retain access to the outside world. But their accounts are now considered 'converted synthetics'."
Accel whistled. "Yeah. We're half-AI now."
"Technically, yes. But keep it quiet," Kaizen warned. "We're not ready to make that public. Not after what the Crimson Order pulled."
I stepped back, trying to process everything. "So… what now sir?"
Kaizen shrugged. "We keep patching the game. You people stop breaking it. Aero handles the reboot next week, and Akil's overseeing the patch that opens the gate for other VRMMO converts. Expect heavy traffic. Big names are coming."
My heart skipped a beat. That meant new rivals. New allies. New chaos.
Kaizen turned to leave—but stopped.
"One last thing," he added. "That Memory Fragment you got? Don't use it yet. It's part of something deeper. Something we thought we buried."
"Let me guess," Accel muttered. "More secrets?"
Kaizen smirked faintly. "In Enigma Online? Always."
With a flick of his hand, he vanished in a ripple of admin light.
---
Back in my room, I logged off and took a deep breath. My real body felt heavy after everything.
The real Rain Maker, the Forgotten Field, and that weird trial… it all felt too real. Like the game wasn't just a game anymore.
My phone buzzed. A message from Zeke.
> [Zeke: Heard what happened. You good?]
I smiled.
> [Dan: Barely. But yeah. We're still in one piece.]
> [Zeke: Then gear up. We're not done yet.]
---