The throne's flames roared as if drawing breath.
DdD stood before the god, while reality itself seemed to pulse around them.
"Eterna is condemned," the god declared, its eyes burning like extinguished suns. "An endless war devours its lands. Humans, demons, even the very heavens... All have forgotten balance."
The silence was thick. Ruins creaked under a dark breeze.
"And you are the balance."
"Destroy everything... if your judgment dictates it."
"Or save what can still be saved."
DdD listened in silence.
He felt no fear. He had traversed every corner of this world as a player. He knew the kingdoms, the cities, the clans, the hidden dungeons. He knew which NPCs were useful, which missions gave good rewards, and where the map's secrets were hidden.
But now everything felt different. Real. Alive.
"What if I refuse?" he asked, his voice deep, still surprised at how it sounded.
"You cannot." The answer was immediate, devoid of malice, but final. "You have been chosen by this world's higher law. You are not here by chance, but by necessity for balance."
The god extended its hand. A sphere floated in the air: black, pulsating, like a heart beating in slow motion.
"This is your core. Your existence in Eterna. As long as it remains complete, you can walk the world, learn, feel, decide."
"But if it falls into corruption... if you yourself become corrupted..." Its eyes glowed with devastating intensity. "...the world will fall with you."
DdD raised the sphere. As he touched it, a wave of information flooded into him.
Checkpoints, sealed locations, races, political tensions, broken alliances.
The war was worse than he remembered from the game.
Eterna wasn't just a battlefield...
It was a hell decorated with banners.
"So, I have to judge this world..." he whispered.
"Yes. Interact. Walk among the mortals. Listen, observe. Kill if you must, forgive if you wish. But everything you do will influence the final outcome."
DdD closed his eyes. For the first time, he felt something beyond power: responsibility.
He was no longer a player. He was a judge.
"I accept," he finally said. "But do not expect me to be merciful just because I bear a human face."
The god sketched a barely visible smile.
"Nor do we expect you to be just. Only that you be yourself."
The ruins began to fade, and the real world of Eterna started to emerge around him: floating mountains, dark castles, wandering creatures. An entire living continent.
Awaiting his verdict.