Josh's eyes fluttered open to blinding daylight.
He groaned, his body shifting slightly as he was rocked up and down—soft tremors pulsing beneath him. He blinked rapidly, adjusting to the brightness.
Then he sat up.
Confused.
Surprised.
Alive.
He touched his chest, arms, neck—no wounds. No blood. Just skin.
Was it a dream?
The fire… the cloaked men… the void?
The thought of it being real made his chest tighten.
That's when he heard it—hooves.
A rider was circling the edge of the crater he lay in. A boy, not much older than him, mounted on a horse, eyes fixed on Josh like he'd just found a ghost.
Fear surged through Josh.
He leapt to his feet—
And collapsed instantly.
His legs gave out like they'd never walked before. His body felt foreign.
The rider dismounted quickly and rushed toward him.
Josh crawled backward, eyes wide, hands trembling.
"Who are you?" he shouted, voice cracking. "What do you want with me?!"
The boy paused a few steps away.
"I'm Kaen," he said. His voice tried to sound strong, but it faltered—betraying uncertainty behind the boldness."So… uh, I need water," Kaen said awkwardly, brushing hair out of his face. "But—are you okay?"
Josh stared at him. His body trembled. His mind burned with questions. But Kaen's voice wasn't threatening. It was… gentle. Honest.
The hardened wall of fear and suspicion around Josh cracked.
He looked down at his hands again—still alive, still whole.
"What happened to me?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
Kaen's expression darkened. "Don't you… remember?"
Josh blinked. "I remember… everything fading. My breath slowing. I thought… I died. Then there was a dream. A voice. But—" He looked up, panic rising. "I'm supposed to be dead! Where are my parents?! My friends? My village?!"
His breathing quickened. His heart thudded like it wanted out of his chest.
"Where are they?!"
Kaen stepped closer, his voice quiet and heavy.
"I… I saw it. From far away. The explosion. The light."
He swallowed hard.
"There was no village left. No people. No bodies. Just a crater… and black snow covering the earth."
Josh froze. His lips parted, but no words came.
Kaen lowered his gaze.
"You were the only one alive. So… I carried you away."
A tear slipped down Josh's cheek before he even realized he was crying.
His voice cracked as he whispered, "Why… me?"
Then, louder—raw and full of rage:
"Why me?!"
His voice echoed across the dead field, swallowed by silence and black snow.
And then—
Something appeared.
A rectangular box floated mid-air in front of him, glowing faintly with a purple-blue hue, flickering like an unstable projection.
Josh blinked. "Do you see that?"
Kaen looked around. "See what?"
Josh pointed. "The box—right here. Floating in the air!"
Kaen stepped back, brows furrowed. "There's nothing there, Josh."
Josh's heart pounded as he slowly reached toward it. His fingers brushed the glowing edge—
And instantly, text appeared inside the box:
WELCOME
Resurrection: Complete
Do you wish to proceed to:
▶ Rules
▷ Ignore
YOU HAVE BEEN RESURRECTED.
You are no longer a soul bound by natural law.
The following rules are now in effect:
[1] YOU ARE THE FRAGMENT.
You are not chosen.
You are not cursed.
You are what remains.
[2] MEMORY IS A LIE.
What you recall may not be truth.
What you forget may still be binding.
[3] DEATH WILL NOT FREE YOU.
Should your body fall, you will return.
But each return takes more than it gives.
[4] POWER IS RELATIONAL.
What you gain, the world must lose.
All balance comes at a cost.
[5] YOU MAY BE SEEN.
Those sensitive to echoes, fragments, or fate may perceive your anomaly.
Beware: not all who see you will bow.
[6] THE WORLD IS A WOUND.
You are not here to save it.
You are here to decide if it is worth saving.
[7] OBEDIENCE IS MANDATORY.
You may question.
You may resist.
But in the end—you will obey.
Failure to comply will result in correction.
Correction will not be kind.
"What?" Josh exclaimed, eyes wide, heart pounding.
The floating box pulsed in front of him, its text glowing softly.
"What is it?" Kaen asked, looking around.
Josh ignored him, still reading the words inside the box. "These… these rules… It's like a contract," he muttered. "It's trying to bind me."
Kaen stepped closer. "Josh, are you okay? What contract?"
Josh shook his head violently. "I don't accept this. I said no."
He tapped NO on the screen.
The interface blinked once.
And then—
The YES button lit up instead.
"No, no, no—" Josh stumbled backward. "I said no! I don't accept this!"
Kaen watched him now with visible concern, eyes narrowing. "Josh… are you sure you're okay?"
Josh clutched his head, his breath quickening. "It's forcing me. I didn't agree. I didn't agree…"
Then came the voice. Cold. Mechanical. Inevitable.
CONTRACT: ACTIVATED
System Level: 1
Directive:
▶ FIND THE SWORD
> Josh went silent.
Kaen looked at him like he was losing his mind.
And somewhere, in the far edge of the sky a BlackJust as Josh and Kaen approached the edge of the trail that led toward the marked sword location, the system pulsed again—
A message blinked to life before Josh's eyes:
>
---
NOTICE:
Due to your current powerless state, transportation is disabled.
You must complete this journey on foot.
Distance: 89 km
Refusal will result in consequence activation.
> Josh stared in disbelief.
"Wait… seriously? Eighty-nine kilometers?!"
A second line appeared—colder than before:
Refuse or be corrected.
Josh groaned and slid off the Carter like a defeated sack of bones, landing with a dull thud.
"Urrghhh... can my life get any worse?"
Kaen looked at him, eyebrows raised. "You're walking now?"
"Apparently, yeah. The system decided I'm too powerless to ride in style," Josh muttered, glaring at the floating interface only he could see.
With a long, dramatic sigh, he took his first step down the path.
> And so, the journey to find Blightfall began...
…one painfully human step at a time.
> But just before the system box flickered away, Josh caught a glitching fragment of corrupted data:
>
---
**>> Fragment Potential: LOCKED
> > Unlock conditions: [ERROR#199x]
Sword Identity: Blightfall
True Function: ???
User Sync: 19%
Estimated Distance Remaining: 89 km_**
---
> The message vanished.
Josh clenched his fists, breathing slowly.
Eighty-nine kilometers... no powers, no weapons. Just black snow and a countdown.
The clock was ticking.