CHAPTER 36: RHYS MERCER

From now on, Its 3rd Pov only

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The soft hiss of the capsule echoed in the quiet room, followed by a gentle release of steam. The chamber’s curved hatch slid open with a smooth whisper.

Rhys Mercer slowly opened his eyes.

Not to glowing runes or mystical system prompts—but to the familiar ceiling of his private room. The scent of jasmine lingered faintly in the air, and a cool breeze filtered through the one-way window pane high on the far wall.

"You’re awake, young master," a calm voice greeted him.

A young maid stood nearby, holding a glass of cold water on a silver tray. She bowed slightly as Rhys sat up, his limbs still adjusting after twenty hours in the capsule.

"Thanks," he said, voice a bit hoarse. He took the glass and downed half of it in a single go. The chill cleared the haze from his mind.

The maid waited patiently, watching with quiet attentiveness. "Should I prepare the bath?"

Rhys nodded. "Yeah. That’d be good."

By the time he reached the bathroom, everything was ready. Warm steam rolled out from the edge of the stone tub, water filled with just a hint of lavender oil.

He stripped down, set his ID wristband aside, and sank into the water with a low breath of relief. The warmth seeped into his bones. For a few long minutes, he simply sat there, letting the real world slowly settle back around him.

His eyes drifted toward the tall window beside the tub—one-way glass that gave a clear view of the city below.

Feon.

The city stretched far and wide, silver towers piercing the sky like glass needles, skytrams zipping across the upper rails, and floating billboards pulsing softly in the dusk. From this height, it looked almost peaceful.

Feon... the city of light.

The name was familiar now. As it should be.

Rhys had lived in this world for eighteen years.

Born as Rhys Mercer here in Magadh, but carrying the memories of a past life on Earth—one he hadn’t forgotten, even after all this time.

It had taken years to adjust. This place looked like a futuristic Earth—same skies, same air, same everyday concerns. But it wasn’t Earth. Not even close.

This world, Magadh, wasn’t in the Milky Way. Wasn’t on any map from his old life. Its continents spanned further, oceans ran deeper, and the planet itself was more than twenty billion years old—three times the age of the Earth he once called home.

A world ancient, vast, and unknowable.

Rhys leaned his head back against the tub’s edge, the water lapping softly against his shoulders.

For all its strangeness, for all its depth—this world had become his home.

And now, with Final Life Online officially launched, the countdown to the apocalypse had already begun.

In just five years, this world—Magadh—would awaken as a newly-born mana-radiating planet.

That was the fate of all civilizations in this universe.

Every world, once it matured and crossed the threshold of arcane awakening, would be chosen by the system. And with that choice came a warning... and a trial.

The game known as Final Life Online.

It wasn’t just entertainment.

It was preparation.

A disguised trial to prepare the inhabitants of the world for what was coming—a way to awaken their potential, train their minds, and sort the survivors from the rest before the real test arrived.

"In the end," Rhys muttered under his breath, eyes half-lidded as he soaked in the bath, "it’s just a simulation of the apocalypse. Only four years and eleven months left until it begins."

He let the warmth of the water sink into his muscles, but his mind stayed sharp.

"I’ve already secured two cheats..."

He clenched his fist beneath the surface.

"...but I’ll need more."

Rhys leaned back in the bath, warm steam curling around his face as his mind ran through the plan.

Mistheart City.

He hadn’t chosen it by accident.

In Final Life Online, locations weren’t just digital assets—they held meaning, depth, hidden systems, and forgotten stories. And according to what he remembered, if a city had even a trace of legend in its lore, it always came with at least one hidden quest. Sometimes small, sometimes game-breaking.

And Mistheart was exactly that kind of place. Quiet. Overlooked. But ancient in a way no one paid attention to.

He stayed in the bath a little longer, then stepped out, toweled off, and dressed casually. The sky outside was already dimming. It would be four hours before he could log back into the game—the standard cooldown after a twenty-hour neural dive.

Dinner was simple: seared meat, rice, and a mineral-rich broth designed to support capsule users’ health. He ate without rush, seated by the window that looked out over the city of Feon.

Then, as the stars began to peek through the clouds, he went to bed.

Four hours later.

Rhys stood inside the towering headquarters of Mercer International, a legacy he had inherited—but rebuilt with his own hands.

The original Mercer Company had been one of the top 50 corporations in the world of Magadh, known globally for its luxury vehicles and automotive innovations. Founded decades ago, it had once dominated the Eastern Dominion’s roads and trade fleets.

But now?

It was something far more.

After the tragic loss of his family, the company had passed into Rhys’s hands—entrusted solely to him by his grandfather, the last surviving elder of the Mercer line. At the time, Rhys had only been twelve.

Most thought the legacy would crumble.

Instead, it transformed.

Rhys—armed with knowledge from his previous life on Earth—had quietly begun steering Mercer International into uncharted territory. He added divisions focused on neural interface systems, immersive entertainment, and experimental AI-driven simulations. Then came the real leap: gaming.

Not just ordinary games. But ideas, genres, and frameworks that didn’t even exist in this world—systems inspired by the virtual realities of his past life.

Fantasy MMOs. Open-world survival. Esports arenas. Roguelike engines. Interactive AI narratives.

The result was explosive.

Mercer International, once a juggernaut of the auto world, now straddled two major industries: transport and entertainment. Its influence spread like wildfire. New tech, new patents, new revenue. Their games and tech weren’t just competing—they were reshaping the way people lived and played.

Now, six years later, the company stood tall as the 18th largest corporation in Magadh, with a rising trajectory and international investments pouring in like a tide.