'Why is it still dark?'
I blinked. Again. Uselessly. My eyes were open—I knew they were—but there was nothing to see. Just darkness. Stillness. Pressure above me. Wooden slats.
'A coffin. Of course.'
I was alive. Technically. But barely. Cold air filled my lungs, heavy with the scent of rot and damp soil. My arms were stiff. My legs cramped. I was lying on my back inside a box meant to be my forever home.
"System," I whispered, voice hoarse, "show me my status."
There was a soft chime in my mind, and then words flared into view—glowing across my thoughts like lines written in light.
[STATUS SCREEN – Soul bound Host: Isaac]
Level: 1
Race: Unknown (Undead-Linked)
Class: None
Titles: [Revenant]
HP (Vitality): 23 / 100
MP (Mana): 10 / 50
Strength: 4
Agility: 3
Endurance: 2
Intelligence: 6
Willpower: 5
Charisma: 1
Luck: ???
Active Skills:
[Resurrection – Used. Cooldown: 6 Days 23 Hours]
Passive Effects:
[Soulbound Vessel] — Your soul is bound to a dead host. You cannot be possessed, but restoration and healing effects are weakened.
'These stats… they're pitiful.'
My strength was barely enough to lift my own arms, and endurance? I'd probably faint from a breeze. The irony of being revived into such a weak body wasn't lost on me.
"System," I croaked again, "show me my remaining ultimate skills."
[Ultimate Skill Selection – Remaining Slots: 4]
Analyzing host condition…Recommended Skills for survival and growth in critical state:
• [Soul Echo] — Gain random stat boosts and skill traces from defeated enemies.• [Limit Breach] — Remove all limits on stat caps and level restrictions.• [Devourer's Core] — Absorb items, corpses, or energy for permanent growth.• [Architect's Insight] — Adjust stat growth multipliers with each level.
System Recommendation: Accept recommended configuration?
[Y/N]
I stared at the glowing text in my mind.
'This is it?'
I didn't have the time or energy to scroll through hundreds of options. I could barely breathe. My brain was still catching up to the fact I was alive. If the System thought these would keep me from dying again, who was I to argue?
"Yes," I whispered.
The response was instant.
[Skills Acquired.]- Soul Echo- Limit Breach- Devourer's Core- Architect's Insight
System integration complete.
A shiver ran through me. No fanfare. No explosions. But somewhere deep inside me, the world changed.. Not like Resurrection. This was… bigger. These skills weren't just tools—they were pieces of a future I didn't yet understand.
'This coffin's wooden… it feels weak. I could probably break out.'
I pressed my hand against the lid. The wood gave slightly under my palm.
'I could force it open… but what if I break it too hard? The soil would come crashing in and bury me alive.'
A wave of cold sweat rolled down my neck.'Would I suffocate? Would I die again? And wait… if I die…'
The Resurrection skill was still on cooldown. Six days. I would be trapped in that rotting, breathless corpse until it reset.
'No. No. I'm not dying again. Not like that.'
Then something sparked in my mind—Devourer's Core.
"I'm in a graveyard," I whispered. "Where there's one coffin, there must be others."
And if there were corpses nearby…'Then I could feed. Grow. Survive.'
I turned sideways as much as the narrow coffin allowed. Slowly, carefully, I began to pry the wooden panel next to me loose with my fingers, using more cunning than strength. The creaking of dry, rotted wood echoed in the still dark. I held my breath, waiting for the soil above to collapse.
It didn't. The side broke open. Just enough.
Behind the panel: dirt. Dense, damp, heavy.
'This is suicide.'
But I dug anyway. Inch by inch. Handful by handful. The dirt was cold and packed, but soft enough to part. It clung to my skin, wedging beneath my nails, seeping into the cracks of my fingers. I kept digging—slowly, silently.
My hand hit something hard. Wood.
Another coffin.
'Please let there be a body inside.'
I scratched at the edge, finding the lid. I wedged my fingers under it and pulled. It creaked, resisted—then gave. Inside: pale skin, slack jaw, lifeless eyes.
"Sorry," I whispered to the corpse. "But I need this more than you."
I placed my hand on the cold chest and activated Devourer's Core.
A rush of energy—raw, strange, almost vile—surged into me. The body withered beneath my touch as the life that had long left it was stripped away piece by piece.
[Corpse absorbed. +2 Strength. +1 Endurance.]
I gasped. I could feel the change. My arms tightened, my chest swelled with breath. I wasn't strong yet, but…
'I can do this.'
But that's when it happened.
I felt it first in my lungs. A pressure. Then a tightness in my chest. My breath caught.
'No... not now. I need air!'
The air in the coffin was running out. My body had revived, but I was still human enough to suffocate.
'Dig up. Get out. NOW.'
I clawed at the soil above me. It was heavier, more packed than before. My fingers ached. My head spun.
'Come on! Move!'
I punched upward. Dirt crumbled. Light didn't appear.
And then—my hand hit something hard. Not rock. Not root. Clay. Hardened. A dense layer packed by years of pressure.
"No… no, no!" I shouted, voice cracking. I dug, screamed, pounded until my fingers bled.
It didn't matter.
The air was gone. My vision blurred.
'Not again… not like this…!'
I took one last, shuddering breath—and darkness took me again.