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In a dimly lit basement room, a frail, pale-looking young man slammed his head repeatedly against the wall. His eyes were hollow—like black voids devoid of life.
Then, without warning, he stopped. It was as if sanity had returned to him in an instant.
"Where am I? Who am I?" he thought, clutching his aching head. "Everything is... so foggy."
But the haze didn't last long. Memories came flooding back.
"Right... I was at the Talent Ceremony. I touched the orb and—nothing. After that, everything went black."
He steadied his breath, his eyes narrowing as more memories settled into place.
"It's been sixteen years since I transmigrated to this world... My name here is Silas."
He remembered his old life clearly—flawed, painful, but in hindsight, far better than the one he now led.
"This world... ever since the gods died, it's turned into a nightmare."
There was no sun anymore. No safety beyond the city walls. Even within, survival was a daily struggle. Food was scarce. The land was harsh. The population had shrunk to a mere thousand. Any more and starvation would follow.
But none of that mattered right now.
What did matter was that Silas was trapped in the cathedral's basement—likely because of the madness that had overtaken him.
Silas muttered to himself, "My only chance now is for the priests to realize I'm down here. But who knows how long that'll take... I didn't survive all this just to die because someone forgot to check the basement."
With that, he dragged himself to the door and began punching it. His hands were already bloodied—perhaps he had tried to break out earlier during his frenzy.
Bruised, battered, and on the verge of collapse, he kept at it.
Then, at last, the door creaked open.
Standing there was a familiar face: Cassian Drevaux, his closest friend.
Silas blinked in disbelief. "Cass? What are you doing here?"
Cassian, never one to miss a beat, raised an eyebrow. "Why is your forehead bleeding?"
Silas: "..."
Cass: "..."
Silas finally muttered, "...So, what happened while I was... 'away'?" He gave a weak, almost embarrassed chuckle.
Cassian grinned. "You mean after the orb said you had no talent for any known magical path, and you went full-on berserk? Destroying half the room, then trying to eat your own hands when you couldn't find anything else to break?"
Silas: "Oh... so that did happen."
Cass: "Seriously, your madness doesn't even surprise you anymore?"
Silas sighed. "At this point, nothing does. Anyway, you still haven't answered me—what are you doing here?"
Cassian's eyes lit up. "Ah, right. After your... performance, it was my turn. Turns out, I'm gifted in one of the rarest magical paths—Light. I came early to the cathedral to choose my effigy before the others."
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