Kivas pulled herself out of the shallow crater with a grunt, brushing loose soil from her tangled hair and glancing around.
The world she found herself in was soaked with heavy, humid air. The scent of moss and strange pollen clogged her senses. Plant life sprawled endlessly in every direction—lush, overwhelming, and dark. The leaves were deeper than green, some teetering toward shades of black and bruised violet, swaying with a sluggish, wet sort of grace.
Every trunk, vine, and root seemed to breathe in the mist.
Kivas squinted, one hand shading her face. Even with the thick canopy overhead, her halo still burned brightly atop her head, shedding gold-tinged illumination like a living torch. It fluttered and hissed faintly against the moisture.
"Great," she muttered, pressing a palm against her forehead. "If there's anything out there, they can probably see me from five kilometers away."
The thought sent a chill down her spine.
She flexed her wings cautiously, feeling the feathery appendages rustle against the dense air.
"Ah right, I have wings now, for some reason."
The thought of having them was so curious, that she tried to take it for a ride.
"Hup!"
The motion of the wings was surprisingly smooth. Standing on the tall protruding root of one of the giant trees, she took a leap of faith.
The memory from that was fresh and painful—a powerful jump, a frantic flapping, then an immediate plummet into dirt.
The fact that she forgot that her head was already bleeding from the initial fall, and then she used the same head to take the brunt of the experiment—she was not in a comfortable state.
"Nope," she whispered to herself, folding the wings neatly behind her back. "Flying is not happening. Not yet."
She took stock of her situation with growing clarity.
Also her head was still bleeding.
She came to this world with a white dress. So she ripped a piece of the fabric and performed first aid on her wound.
The fabric of her clothing regenerate back, so that was another weird thing to put on the list.
"I can't think clearly, head, too dizzy…"
Strange world. Unknown dangers. No visible civilization.
Her stomach twisted at the familiar weight of anxiety, but it was a quiet, manageable thing—nothing like the soul-wrenching loneliness she had survived before.
She began gathering materials out of instinct.
Branches with thick fibers. Large leaves slick with dew. Flexible vines that she twisted and wove into rough lashings.
She had no tools, no fire, no supplies—but instincts guided her hands. As if the experience of survival was etched into her bones, deeper than memory.
She worked near the crater she had made, choosing a slightly raised patch of ground with good visibility and a few thick trees nearby for shelter.
The humid air clung to her skin, making every movement heavier, but she pressed on.
As she bent to lash two branches together, she caught a glimpse of herself reflected in a puddle.
She paused.
For a long moment, she simply stared.
Her skin shimmered faintly, unnaturally smooth and polished, like marble warmed by the sun.
The face that stared back at her was familiar and yet alien—hers, but elevated, softened and brightened into something angelic.
"Hmm, at least it is similar to my face."
Her wings flexed again, almost involuntarily. The halo's reflection flickered atop her head, a burning crown she couldn't remove.
Kivas chuckled under her soured expression.
"Of course," she murmured. "The universe finally throws me a bone, and it makes me into an angel. After frying me to oblivion."
She traced the edge of one wing with careful fingers, feeling the softness, the vibrant hum of warm energy just beneath the surface.
Despite the absurdity, she couldn't deny the tiny flare of pride warming her chest. She looked incredible.
But the practical part of her mind soured quickly.
An ever-burning halo? Massive white wings she could barely control? In a world she didn't understand?
"I'm basically a glowing, flapping dinner bell," she grumbled, lashing another set of branches together with exaggerated vigor. "Come eat the helpless angel! Freshly fallen!"
The thought of another crash landing made her cheeks flush with secondhand embarrassment.
At least nobody had been around to see it.
The shelter was coming together though.
She weaved the structure tightly, layering thick leaves overhead for rudimentary rain protection. It wasn't much—little more than a triangular lean-to—but it was better than sitting exposed on damp ground.
Kivas leaned back to survey her work, wiping sweat from her forehead.
As she rested, her mind wandered.
What was she now, really?
The question dug at her, gnawing gently, like a thorn stuck deep under the skin.
She wasn't human anymore—not fully.
She wasn't exactly something new either, at least not something she could name.
Her body was alive with forces she didn't recognize. Her thoughts felt sharper, crisper, clearer than ever before. Her senses stretched beyond the physical, brushing against the textures of space around her like unseen fingertips.
Yet at the core of it all, she still felt like herself.
Still Kivas.
Still aching for something familiar.
Still longing for something she couldn't fully put into words.
As her thoughts swirled, a flicker of movement caught her eye.
At first, she thought it was a trick of the humidity, the way heat plays tricks with vision, or her awful bleeding. But then the flicker sharpened, condensed, and bloomed into something tangible.
A screen.
It hovered in front of her, suspended by a translucent, flickering purple flame. The frame of the screen curled at the edges, almost organic, like the surface of burning petals.
Text formed across its surface—ancient yet somehow readable.
Kivas stared, blinking slowly.
"…You've got to be kidding me."
➤『WELL OF THE SOUL』
Name: Kivas Chariot
Race: Fateling
Total Level: 0
➤『Attributes』
💪 Strength (STR): 8
🧠 Intelligence Quotient (IQ): 16
🙏 Piety (PIE): 20
🛡️ Vitality (VIT): 7
💨 Speed (SPD): 6
🎯 Dexterity (DEX): 10
🍀 Luck (LUK): 9
➤『Vitals』
❤️ Hemo Psyche (HP): 10 / 10
🔮 Mana Psyche (MP): 10 / 10
➤ 『Derived Stats』
🗡️ Attack Power: 8
✨ Magic Power: 16
🔆 Divine Power: 20
🛡️ Defense: 7
🍃 Magic Defense: 20
👁️ Detect: 14
🧩 Disarm Trap: 10
🚧 Evade Trap: 7
🏃 Action Speed: 6
🎯 Accuracy: 10
🌀 Evasion: 7
⛓️ Resistance: 15
➤『Classes』
◈ Null
➤『Skills』
◈ Divine Soulmate Imbuer Lv1 – You possess the power to imbue a Genesis Core onto your fated soulmate.
◈ Fate Weaver Lv1 – You possess the power to weave fate.
➤『END OF THE WELL』
The screen pulsed softly, gazing.