Chapter 3: Shadows That Watch
The village was stunned when Rayden returned at dawn — bruised, bloodied, and dragging behind him the bodies of the five bandits. No one spoke. No one dared. Even the guards who had refused to give chase could only stare.
He didn't ask for thanks. He didn't want it. Not anymore.
The Berserk System remained silent for hours after the fight, as if satisfied. But Rayden could feel something else… like eyes watching him from behind his thoughts. A presence lingering at the edge of his soul.
That night, he sat alone on the cliff above the valley. The stars above shone down like cold eyes, and he could hear the river far below. He felt alive — more alive than he ever had before — but also more detached from everything he'd known.
Then came the voice.
Not the system's. A different one.
"You're not the only one," it said.
Rayden stood quickly, spinning to see a cloaked figure standing just beyond the treeline, face hidden in shadows, no footsteps behind them.
"I saw what you did to the bandits," the figure continued, tone eerily calm. "That wasn't ordinary rage. That was corruption. You're tethered to something ancient."
Rayden narrowed his eyes. "Who are you?"
The figure didn't answer. Instead, he tossed something onto the grass — a black crystal shard, pulsing faintly.
"That came from a Berserker's heart. The first one. The one you'll eventually become… unless you learn to control it."
Before Rayden could react, the figure vanished — no flash, no sound, just gone.
Rayden picked up the shard. The moment his skin touched it, the Berserk System reacted.
[UNKNOWN RELIC DETECTED]
[Warning: Memory Fragment Interference]
[Visions Imminent]
A rush of images burst into his mind — cities burning, soldiers screaming, and a monstrous figure wreathed in crimson fury tearing through legions like paper.
Then a whisper.
"You are not the first. You will not be the last."
Rayden fell to his knees, breath ragged.
Whatever the Berserk System was… it had history. And it wasn't just a power. It was a curse that someone had borne before — and likely died from.
But he wasn't afraid.
He was ready to uncover everything.
Even if it meant walking straight into the shadows that watched him.
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