Creak!

From behind the sheet of rain came the shrill, grating screech of steel bones grinding against one another. It was a sound so harsh it made their teeth ache, as if the listeners' own spines were being wrenched out of shape.

The sports car had already retreated as far as it could. Just ten meters behind them flowed the ceaseless River of Flowing Gold. Crossing it was out of the question. The crushing weight of time would instantly collapse their souls. Time was the most terrifying monster of all. It was omnipresent and restless, chewing through all living things and devouring entire civilizations.

The Virtual World Map had narrowed down to just three colors. Right where Ashe and his companions stood was a green safe zone, closely bordered by the golden zone representing the River of Flowing Gold. The remaining territory was smeared with the blood-red colors of the Legion of Heroes, all of them marked Certain Death.

The Empress Hero had promised them time for pleasure, but she had never promised them space. Her legion pressed in from all sides,...