The night of Halloween blanketed the world of Lineage II in an unnatural, cold silence. The usual cacophony of vendors auto-shouting prices in Giran Town Square seemed muted.
Elara, an Elven Archer, stood up on the city walls, peering out on the Dragon Valley entrance. She was farming near the extremes, drawn by whispers of a rare Halloween ghost spawn. The moon, a sickly amber eye, cast long, jagged shadows across the plains.
A sudden, sharpcrack of thunder, though the sky was clear, made her jump.
From the dark maw of the valley, a figure emerged that was not coded by any GM. It was the Reaper, its robes a shifting void, its form impossibly large. It moved with a terrifying grace, the enormous, obsidian curve of the Harvest Blade dragging lightly on the earth, leaving a thin, burned trail.
Elara tried to warn the chat, but her keyboard froze. She could only watch as the Reaper bypassed the usual mob spawns, heading straight for a lone, high-level playerkiting near the roadside - a dark elf named sokeja.
Sokeja, focused on her combat log, never saw it coming. The Reaper didn't attack like a monster; it spent an impossible sweep. The Harvest Blade flashed, and sokeja avatar -along with her name, his loot, and his connection -was instant and utterly reaped. The only remnants were a shower of pale, tortured motes of light, and harvested soul dissolving.
The Reaper turned its empty, hooded face towards the city's bright, defiant lights.
A chilling voice, a whisper of pure static that cut through Elara’s headset and bypassed the game's sound settings, echoed:
" The town walls are simply suggestions. The debt collector is here."
The Reaper began its slow, deliberate glide towards the crowded Giran Town Square. Elara saw dozens of player sprites cluster on the bridge, frozen in fear, realizing their safe zone was no longer safe. The harvest had begun, and the greatest prize in Elmoreden - the fear of its most powerful souls -was ripe for taking.