Three weeks later, in the sleek, nature-infused Junction of Round Table Studios on Friton, the atmosphere was thick with a gloomy, suffocating tension.
Outside, the sun was beginning to set, casting long shadows across the pasture. Inside, the workday was supposed to end in an hour, but no one had moved from their stations. All eyes were fixed on the massive holographic display hovering above the central table.
It was the live sales tracker.
And for the past fifty-nine minutes, the number had remained a glaring, terrifying zero.
Arthur paced back and forth, rubbing the back of his neck. "Are we... are we sure we didn't price it too high?" he asked, his voice tighter than usual.
"I'd say it's too low," Kasavin replied from his desk, pushing his glasses up his nose. He looked just as anxious. "Forty-five credits is a steal. The market research supported it."
Arthur stopped pacing and looked at his wrist chrono. "Logan, what's the update cycle on the sales tracker?"
"It's an hourly batch update from the distributors," Logan said, his fingers drumming nervously on his armrest. "The Void and Heliostore push the aggregate data to our servers every sixty minutes to prevent API throttling."
Bem Lendu leaned forward, his eyes glued to the giant '0'. "About time, guys."
Ross Dalle ran a hand through his hair. "Any second now."
The entire team held their breath. The clock ticked over to the one-hour mark. The hologram flickered, updating with the first batch of data.
The number changed.
120.
The team stared at the projection, completely stunned. The silence in the room was absolute, broken only by the soft hum of the servers downstairs.
One hundred and twenty copies. Across the entire galaxy. In the first hour.
It didn't make any sense. The beta had been a massive success. The viral marketing had reached billions. The forums had been on fire for weeks. The announcement had been sent out. Why was the number only 120?
Lin Liseli dropped into her chair as if her legs had given out. She buried her face in her hands.
Bem took off his glasses, wiping them slowly. "This... this can't be right. Our internal metrics were projecting hundreds of thousands."
Arthur felt a cold knot form in his stomach, but he forced a smile, clapping his hands together to break the oppressive silence. "Hey, it's alright! It's just the first hour. Maybe our fans were too excited, stayed up all night waiting, and fell asleep right before the launch."
Logan, catching Arthur's drift, immediately jumped in to salvage morale. He pointed an accusatory finger at the writer. "I'd say it's Kasavin's fault. He announced the release date a whole week ago. You gave them too much time to burn out."
Kasavin, a veteran of the industry who had seen his fair share of flops, recognized what Arthur and Logan were trying to do. He saw Dalle staring blankly at his screen, Liseli looking devastated, and Bem retreating into his shell.
"Haha, I guess so," Kasavin chuckled, playing along. "I think the fans were waiting for the whole week without sleeping. So the minute we hit 'Release,' they all collectively passed out. A galaxy-wide nap. My bad, guys."
It was a weak joke, but it eased the tension slightly.
"Uuuhhh... guys..." Lin Liseli's voice was small, cutting through the forced levity.
They all turned to her. She was staring at her personal terminal, her eyes wide.
"I just got priority messages from the distributor liaisons," Lin said, her voice trembling slightly. "From both the Void and the Heliostore."
She tapped her screen, projecting the two emails onto the main hologram, right next to the pitiful '120'.
–––––
[URGENT NOTIFICATION: THE VOID DISTRIBUTION NETWORK]
To: Round Table Studios (Admin)
Subject: Server Outage & Transaction Backlog - Action Required
Dear RTS Team,
We are writing to formally apologize for the technical difficulties experienced during the launch window of 'HADES'.At precisely 00:00 standard time, our primary transaction gateways were hit with an unprecedented volume of simultaneous purchase requests. The traffic exceeded our maximum projected load by over 4,000%. This caused a cascading failure in our payment processing modules, effectively breaking the checkout system for the first twenty-five minutes of your launch.We have re-routed the traffic through our emergency auxiliary servers and the system is now stabilized. The backlog of pending transactions is currently processing.Please accept our sincerest apologies for this disruption. And, on behalf of the Void executive team, please accept our congratulations. 'HADES' has just broken our platform's record for the highest volume of attempted purchases in a single hour in our company's history.The updated sales figures will reflect in your next batch report.
Sincerely,The Void Operations Team
–––––
[HIGH PRIORITY: HELIOSTORE MERCHANT SERVICES]
To: Round Table Studios
Subject: System Overload Incident - Resolved
RTS Team,
We regret to inform you that the Heliostore payment infrastructure suffered a critical localized crash upon the release of your title, 'HADES'.
The sheer density of users attempting to process the transaction simultaneously triggered our security measures, which mistakenly flagged the massive influx of legitimate buyers as a coordinated bot attack. This resulted in a temporary freeze on all purchases.
The security lock has been manually lifted, and the queued transactions are now clearing. We are deeply sorry for the panic this delay may have caused your analytics team.
As a side note: congratulations. You have effectively crashed the biggest digital storefront in the Core Worlds. You hold the new record for the biggest launch-hour queue we have ever seen.
Best Regards,Heliostore Vendor Relations
–––––
The team read the emails in silence.
The '120' on the screen wasn't the total number of sales. It was just the handful of lucky people whose payments had managed to slip through the cracks before the entire galactic financial infrastructure choked on the hype.
Arthur let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. He looked at Logan.
Logan looked back, a slow, massive grin spreading across his face.
"Well," Logan said, leaning back in his chair. "I guess they didn't fall asleep after all."
…
And so, the digital dam broke.
HADES had officially launched.
At exactly 00:00 standard Accord time, the "Coming Soon" banners on the Heliostore and the Void storefronts shattered, replaced by a glowing, blood-red "AVAILABLE NOW" button. Millions of users, who had been sitting at their terminals refreshing the page for the last hour, flooded the platforms simultaneously.
But as the masses excitedly mashed the purchase button, preparing to part with a hefty chunk of their monthly wages, they stopped dead at the checkout screen.
Total cost: 45 Credits.
In a galaxy where standard game releases from major studios were strictly priced at a minimum of 100 credits, often bloated with day-one microtransactions and "premium" editions that climbed up to 200, the number felt like a typo. It was less than half the industry standard.
But the surprises didn't stop there. As players across the galaxy began to share their purchase receipts, a pattern emerged. Round Table Studios had implemented a dynamic, system-wide regional pricing algorithm. For players in the lower-income Rim systems and mining colonies, the price was automatically discounted to match their local economy, sometimes dropping as low as 15 or 20 credits.
The net, naturally, lost its collective mind.
[RTS Official Forum - HADES: THE UNDERWORLD]
[Thread: BRO IS THE PRICE BUGGED??? I ONLY PAID 45C!]
> Wallet_Warrior:
"Guys, I think RTS made a mistake on the storefront. I just bought Hades on the Void and it only charged me 45 credits. Standard releases are 100c minimum! Should I report this to support??"
> OuterRim_Scavenger:
"Wait, you guys are paying 45? I live out in a mining sector near Ortani III, and my checkout screen said 20 credits. I thought it was a promotional discount for being an early buyer! Either way, I'm not complaining."
> CodeMiner77:
"It's not a bug, Wallet. I checked the Void API. RTS manually set a regional pricing index into their distributor contract. The game automatically reads your IP's sector economic data and adjusts the price to be affordable for that specific region. The Core Worlds pay 45c, the Mid and Outer Rims pay less."
> Corporate_Drone_001:
"Are you kidding me? A mega-studio like NovaArts just charged me 120 credits for 'Galactic Warfare 7' and they didn't even finish making the campaign. RTS gives us a masterpiece, adjusts the price so poor kids in the Outer Rim can play, and charges the rest of us LESS THAN HALF? Is this studio allergic to money?"
> Zag_Main:
"I feel like I'm robbing them. The art, the music, the combat... I've been playing for half an hour and I'm addicted. How do I give RTS more money?"
> Circle_Oracle:
"This is market manipulation. You can't just undercut the industry standard of 100 credits by more than half! RTS is going to ruin the expectations of consumers. How are other studios supposed to make profit with a 45-credit?"
>> Reply from SpeedDemon:
"Cry about it. Make better games for less money, scrub. Git gud."
>> Reply from Zag_Main:
"Womp womp. The era of the 100-credit garbage fire is over. RTS is the new standard."
> LoreSeeker_Yna:
"This is why Round Table Studios is different. They don't see us as walking credit chips. They want the universe to experience their art, no matter where they live or how much they earn. Bless you, RTS."
> FramePerfect:
"The only thing cheaper than this game is my death to the Three Sisters boss on Floor 1. But seriously, massive W for the devs. Now back to the grind."
> TryHard_99:
"I was ready to skip meals this week to afford the 100c price tag. Now I can buy Hades AND a meal. RTS literally feeding the gamers. 🍕💀"
> Whale_Hunter:
"It felt too cheap. It felt like I was robbing them. So I just bought 10 gift copies and sent them to random people on my friend list. Let the Underworld overflow!"
The strategy was unprecedented. By halving the price and localizing it, Dorian hadn't lost revenue, he had shattered the barrier to entry. Players who normally pirated games or waited months for sales were buying it on day one.
The descent into the Underworld had officially begun.
…
Hours later, the Millennium Falcon touched down in the Kepler pasture, its repulsorlifts kicking up a fine mist from the damp grass.
Dorian stepped off the ramp and immediately let out a long, shuddering sigh. It was the sound of a massive, crushing weight finally lifting from his shoulders. The launch was a success. The servers hadn't melted, and the players were in love.
He took a deep breath, filling his lungs with the crisp Friton air. The wind felt lighter against his face. The rich smell of the land, the sweet petrichor from the recent rain clinging to the soil and grass, it grounded him. He exhaled slowly, and with every step he took toward the farmhouse, his body felt less tense.
He reached the front porch, his hand grasping the doorknob. He turned it, pushing the door open, ready to call out, "I'm home."
POP!
A loud crack echoed in the entryway, followed by a shower of multi-colored paper raining down on his head.
"CONGRATULATIONS!"
Dorian jumped, startled, before breaking into a wide, genuine smile. Standing in the hallway, holding an empty confetti cannon and a massive homemade cake, were his family: John, Lyra, Marcus, and Leo.
Dorian brushed a piece of confetti from his shoulder, laughing. "Thank you, guys. Thank you. But you're going to need to buy that confetti in bulk. My album releases next week."
Lyra rolled her eyes, shifting the heavy cake in her hands. "That's a next-week 's problem, Dorian."
Dorian reached out and affectionately pinched his sister's cheek. "Admit it. You just wanted an excuse to eat cake."
"Ow, ow!" Lyra swatted his hand away, though she was smiling. "Memorizing the Accord Law books drains a lot of calories, okay? My brain needs sugar to function."
Dorian chuckled and turned to Marcus. He blinked, suddenly realizing he had to adjust his line of sight. "Wait... since when are you this tall?"
His eleven-year-old brother had shot up like a weed, the top of his head almost reaching Dorian's shoulder.
Marcus puffed out his chest, a proud, goofy grin on his face. "Hehe. I'm still growing, you know. I drink a lot of Muurbeast milk."
Dorian reached over and ruffled the kid's hair, then looked at his father. John stood in the back, a quiet, immense pride radiating from him.
"Thanks, Dad," Dorian said softly.
"Always, son," John replied, his eyes crinkling warmly. "Alright, come, come. We made your favorite for dinner to go with the cake."
"Alert," Leo's voice chimed in. "Biometric scan indicates suboptimal energy levels. Master, you need to make Dorian eat double portions. He did not consume lunch today."
John stopped dead in his tracks. He turned slowly, his 'Dad Mode' activating instantly. "You didn't eat lunch?"
Dorian froze. He slowly turned his head to glare at the floating metal orb. "You snitch," he muttered under his breath.
Leo simply blinked his blue optic light cheerfully.
John marched over to the counter, grabbed the largest plate he could find, and began piling on an ungodly amount of roasted vegetables, meat, and bread. He walked over and firmly placed the mountain of food in front of Dorian's seat.
"Here. Fill up," John ordered, tapping the table. "You need to make up for the food you skipped. You can't make music and games on an empty stomach."
Dorian looked at the intimidating pile of food, then at his family gathering around the table, laughing and bickering while Leo hovered nearby. He smiled warmly, picking up his fork. "Fine, Dad."
It was a perfectly wholesome scene, a small pocket of peace tucked away on a quiet farming planet.
…
Meanwhile, the rest of the galaxy was in a state of absolute buzz.
Hades had done more than just succeed; it had broken the market. The sheer volume of sales, driven by the incredibly accessible 45-credit price point and regional discounts, had shattered quarterly projections across the board.
In the towering, glass-walled boardrooms of the Core Worlds, the executives of the major game studios had no choice but to look in Round Table Studios' direction.
Some of their recent Virtual Reality releases; titles that promised "100 percent immersion" and required expensive rigs hadn't even sold a fraction of this much on their opening days. Sure, they maintained steady sales over time, coasting on their established brands and massive marketing budgets. And for now, they could deflect the criticism. Their PR departments were already spinning the narrative: 'Our prices are 120 credits because we offer full VR integration and photorealistic graphics. RTS is just making flat 2D games.'
It was a comfortable excuse. It worked for the shareholders.
But behind closed doors, the higher-ups were sweating. They looked at the engagement numbers. They looked at the cultural impact. They looked at how fiercely loyal the RTS fanbase had become in under a year.
Round Table Studios releasing their games cheaply had effectively destroyed the perceived value of the mega-studios' catalogs. Why pay 120 credits for a buggy sim, plus expensive rigging equipment, when you could pay 45 for a mechanically perfect masterpiece?
A single, terrifying thought echoed through the minds of every CEO and Lead Director in the industry:
'How long?'
How long would it take for RTS to take their optimization, their storytelling, and their revolutionary pricing model, and branch out into VR?
If Round Table Studios ever stepped into the Virtual Reality market, it wouldn't just be competition. It would be a slaughter. They needed to do something about this upstart, and they needed to do it soon.
…
Dorian closed the door to his room, leaning against the cool wood.
The night felt lighter. The surprise celebration from his family felt special, distinct in a way he couldn't quite articulate.
The day he had received the Golden Gilded frame for his song had been incredible, but tonight's celebration for Hades hit differently. Maybe it was because he was finally starting to let himself enjoy these little moments.
For so long before all this happened, before the System suddenly appeared a year and a half ago. He had been running on fumes, trying to hold his family together.
Now, he could breathe.
He walked over to his bed and sat down. "System," he whispered.
Ding.
The familiar blue holographic panel materialized. A series of new notifications flashed across the screen in rapid succession.
[NOTICE: Host has successfully released a new title: 'HADES']
[Creating Banner...]
[Input: HADES data.]
POP!
A digital, pixelated firework exploded on the screen, followed by a new icon appearing next to the Stardew Valley chicken logo. It was a flaming, three-headed skull.
[Loading... Creating Profile...]
[Profile Created: Prince of the Underworld]
Dorian smiled, his anticipation bubbling over. This was what he had been waiting for. The godly artifacts.
He opened the [Banner Panel].
The familiar Stardew Valley banner was there.
1 Point for 1 Pull.
10 Points for 10 Pulls.
100 Points for 100 Pulls.
He swiped over to the new, sleek, red-and-gold Hades banner. He looked at the cost section, ready to spam the button.
He stopped. He rubbed his eyes and looked again.
1,000 Points for 1 Pull.
10,000 Points for 10 Pulls.
100,000 Points for 100 Pulls.
Dorian stared at the screen, his jaw dropping. He leaned forward, squinting as if the extra zeros were a trick of the light.
"WHY IS IT SO EXPENSIVE?!" he whisper-yelled into the empty room.
The System didn't answer. It just glowed, stubbornly demanding a premium price for the power of the gods.
…
Days passed.
While Dorian grumbled about gacha inflation, the normal player base was slowly pushing their way out of Tartarus and stepping onto the magma-scorched islands of Asphodel.
The Hades forums were a vibrant, chaotic ecosystem. People were sharing build optimization, guides on how to beat the first boss, and insane boon combos that melted enemies in seconds.
But the most flourishing section of all was the Lore discussion.
Players had already encountered Sisyphus in Tartarus. Him and his companion, "Bouldy," had become an instant hit. The thought of a literal, inanimate boulder being an NPC with dialogue options (even if the dialogue was just ...) cracked up the community. There were already fan arts of Bouldy wearing little hats.
But players like LoreSeeker_Yna wanted to know more. They dug beneath the humor.
They dove deep into the Codex entries and pieced together the fragments of dialogue. Yna discovered the myth of Sisyphus, how he had cheated death, and as punishment, was condemned to push a boulder to the top of a mountain, only for it to roll back down to do it all over again.
The community's perception shifted. They began to admire the man. They admired how centuries of brutal, mind-numbing punishment hadn't broken him, but instead shaped him into the thoughtful, surprisingly upbeat man they met in the game. He had found peace in the struggle.
LoreSeeker_Yna began to compile these findings into cohesive, beautifully written narrative posts so players who skipped the dialogue could still appreciate the depth of the world.
But Yna wasn't done.
Asphodel offered a new encounter.
…
[Planet: Ardota Prime - Preservers Archive]
Deep within the silent, temperature-controlled vault of the Preservers Archive, Yna sat at her desk, entirely ignoring the priceless artifacts around her.
She was playing Hades. Zagreus had just walked into a special chamber in Asphodel. The magma river flowed around a small, lush island where a woman made of wood and roots was singing a hauntingly beautiful melody, cooking something over a fire.
Eurydice.
Yna giggled, a sound that was incredibly out of place in the solemn extinct civilization archive. She tapped through the dialogue, her eyes devouring every word, every nuance of the character's tragic history with Orpheus.
She felt a rush of pure joy. Sitting here, surrounded by the dead history of the Accord, she felt like she had been thrown into a brand-new, living world. A world that was rich, tragic, and waiting to be discovered.
She pulled up a blank document on her terminal.
The Tragedy of the Musician and the Muse, she typed as the title.
RTS had built the labyrinth. And Yna was determined to map every single shadow within it.
[RTS Official Forum - HADES: THE UNDERWORLD]
[Thread: THE THIRST IS REAL]
> MegStepOnMe:
"I'm not saying I throw my runs on purpose when I reach the Fury sisters... but I'm not saying I don't. Alecto can ruin my life anytime."
>> Reply from Tisiphone_Enjoyer:
"MURDER? MURDER."
>> Reply from TeamMegara:
"You guys have terrible taste. Meg is the only one who actually cares about Zag. Alecto is just crazy."
>> Reply from Alecto_Simp:
"Yeah, crazy HOT."
> DeathApproaches:
"Is anyone else getting absolutely derailed by Thanatos? Like, he shows up out of nowhere, steals my kills, looks effortlessly cool, and then just... leaves? I need more Death boy. When can I give him Nectar?"
>> Reply from BloodAndDarkness:
"Wait until you get the dialogue where he gets mad at Zag for leaving without telling him. The tension is palpable. I'm shipping it."
>> Reply from DusaFanClub:
"You guys are sleeping on the real best girl. Dusa is carrying this entire palace on her non-existent shoulders."
> ChaosLover:
"Hear me out… Chaos."
>> Reply from SanePerson:
"It's a primordial entity of the void, bro."
>> Reply from ChaosLover:
"And?"
[Thread: Elysium is kicking my teeth in. Help.]
> ShieldBro:
"Okay, so Tartarus was fine. Asphodel was a little spicy with the lava. BUT ELYSIUM?! Why do the exalted warriors have shields?! Why do they resurrect if you don't kill the little eyeball things?! I am suffering."
>> Reply from FramePerfect:
"Use the Aegis shield with the Doom boon from Ares on your special. Bounce it between them. You're welcome."
>> Reply from ShieldBro:
"The speed god has spoken. Bless u."
[Thread: [SPOILERS] The Tragedy of the Great War - Achilles & Patroclus]
> LoreSeeker_Yna:
"For those of you who have managed to reach Elysium (congrats!), you might have stumbled into a quiet glade and met a shade named Patroclus. If you've been paying attention to the Codex, and Achilles' dialogue back at the House..."
"...Achilles traded his soul to Hades in exchange for Patroclus' safe passage to Elysium. He condemned himself to eternal servitude in the lowest depths of the House, just so the man he loved could rest in paradise. But the heartbreaking part? Patroclus is in Elysium, but he's miserable because Achilles isn't there. He literally tells Zagreus to tell Achilles to 'risk it all.' They are separated by bureaucracy and a terrible deal."
> CryingInTheClub:
"Yna, I play this game to hit things with a sword, not to feel things. Why did you do this to me?"
> LoreJunkie:
"The writing is insane. It's not just 'go kill the boss.' Every character has this deep, intertwined history. Does anyone know if there's a quest to reunite them? I will literally fight Hades himself barehanded if it means I can get those two back together."
> Zag_Main:
"I gave Patroclus Ambrosia today. He told me he doesn't want it. I'm actually depressed."
> TheRealTheseus:
"Forget the sad stuff! Have you guys fought the boss of Elysium yet?! THAT GUY IS SO ANNOYING. The Minotaur is cool, but the champion guy? I want to punch his perfect teeth in."
>> Reply from Minotaur_Respecter:
"Asterius is a real one. The other guy is just a glorified hype man with a spear."
…
As funny as its sound, the Underworld was alive. And the players were entirely trapped within its depths, willingly handing over themselves to the labyrinth Arthur had built.
BTW: IMG
**A/N**
~Read Advance Chapter and Support me on [email protected]/SmilinKujo~
~🧣KujoW
**A/N**