There was a young man named Vincent sitting on a wooden chair overlooking the sea… His eyes were black, with even darker circles under them.
He held a handful of stones in his hands and threw them directly into the sea, as if he were throwing away the worries that weighed down his ankles.
When he was about to throw the last stone, a little girl came and stood beside him, saying to him in a sweet tone:
"Hey little boy, you shouldn't throw trash into the sea."
When she finished saying that sentence, she ran to her parents… Vincent looked toward them, seeing them happy as they lovingly held their daughter's hand, with a beautiful smile on their faces.
Vincent touched his own face and said:
"Do I look like a little boy?"
He smirked sarcastically and continued speaking as he threw the stone into the sea:
"Those who were raised in bliss don't know the taste of hell."
There was a sandwich meal beside him; he grabbed it and brought it close to his mouth…
"What a smell… a smell that makes me wish to stay alive a little longer."
He laughed at himself as he said these words…
"Looks like my mind is mocking me. I was kicked out of the orphanage without even being given a single coin. What's the point of living here?"
As he was about to take the first bite, a bird flew in quickly and snatched his sandwich, soaring away into the sunset-painted sky.
Vincent looked toward the bird, tears almost bursting from his eyes like waves… He laughed again, placing his palm over his face…
"I guess because I threw the last stone and didn't listen to the girl's words… what rotten luck that follows me."
He leaned back, looking downward, his black hair strands covering part of his face… He placed his right hand into his pocket, pulling out a Tarot card.
On the card was an image of an angel blowing a trumpet, raising the dead from their graves, and a person falling into the depths of the Abyss… Vincent had no idea what it symbolized, but he knew he needed certain people to tell him what it was.
"I was kicked out of the orphanage because of this card. All I know is that the Abyssal Talisman has chosen me, but no one has explained its meaning."
He put the card back into his pocket, stood on his frail legs, and headed toward a place he had in mind…
After walking for half an hour… he stopped in front of a building with the sign:
[Abyssal Talisman Center]
"One of those places where you don't know if you'll come back alive or not."
He said it with a sarcastic tone, climbing the stairs as his legs seemed to try to drag him away from the place, but to no avail.
He entered the Talisman Center, which was extremely simple—a collection of swords and guns on the wall, and two policemen chatting with each other.
The policemen noticed Vincent, whose appearance made him look like a dead man walking—short in stature and barely able to stand.
One of the policemen, with arrogant features, stood up while holding his pants with his hands, walked toward Vincent, and spoke in a mocking tone:
"Hey little boy, did you lose your way to school or what?"
The two policemen laughed at him, while he looked back at them with completely indifferent eyes…
'How funny you are, you bastard. I wish I could kill you.'
Vincent was extremely angry at this jerk…
"You have a good sense of humor, officer, but I was chosen by the Abyssal Talisman."
Both of them stopped laughing, their expressions turning completely serious…
The other officer put his hand on his gun as if ready to attack, and the first did the same.
"Boy, this is something you should never joke about. Were you really chosen by the Abyssal Talisman?"
Vincent nodded silently, without saying a word… The other officer, with silly features, left his desk and told the first to ask something:
"Ask him if he has the Abyssal Tarot card. If he's lying, we'll punish him with prison."
Vincent tried to listen to what they were whispering to each other, noticing the sly joy in their expressions.
"Boy, do you have the Abyssal Tarot card?"
They both had wide grins, thinking Vincent didn't have it—but those smiles vanished when he reached into his pocket and pulled out the card right in front of them.
Shock covered both policemen's faces, the alarm sounded, and one of them called for the captain, asking him to come immediately.
The policemen led Vincent into a plain room with a large mirror stained with small marks and a chair bolted to the wall…
Vincent sat on the chair, looking around…
'Am I in an interrogation room or what?'
Vincent had a sarcastic personality and always used it to relieve the pressure weighing on him.
As he waited in the room, shaking his legs rapidly… the door opened, and a captain with a fat build and a somewhat relaxed face walked in.
He lit his cigarette, took a chair, and sat in front of him, raising Vincent's Tarot card and saying:
"Kid, you're the unluckiest person in the world."
"Thanks for that important note, but that's obvious from my face."
Vincent was smiling, even though he didn't know exactly what situation he was in right now…
"Kid, I really mean it. Ever since the Talisman invaded this world, you're the unluckiest person I've ever seen in my life."
The Abyssal Talisman—the world had gone through many unnatural phenomena, such as the disappearance of an entire continent, massive earthquakes, or wars.
But the most powerful of them all was the meteor incident, which brought terrifying changes to the world, including the appearance of the Abyssal Talisman along with the Tarot cards.
Because of this talisman, most dead humans turned into mindless, purposeless monsters—nothing but chaos-bringers. That's why the Awakened, chosen by the Tarot cards, appeared to stop these monsters both in the real world and within the Abysses.
Vincent's smile faded, and he spoke with an uneasy tone:
"Can you explain to me… how?"
"Your card symbolizes the Justice of the Hybrid… Simply put, if someone knows your real name, it will either drag you straight into hell or summon a creature that will try to kill you."
Vincent gripped his pants tightly as he listened to the officer's words, the fear clearly visible on his face.
The officer continued, placing a hand on Vincent's shoulder:
"But there's one solution, kid. What's your name?"
Vincent answered quickly, as if he wanted to die right now:
"Vincent…"
"It's a beautiful and rare name, so try using only one letter from your name inside the Abyss, and avoid letting some Awakened or inhabitants of the Abyss know your real name… In a moment of anger, they could send you into the depths of hell."
Vincent's mind drifted, trying to grasp the curse placed upon him…
"So, kid, which letter from your name will you choose?"
Looking around, he saw a black drawing on the mirror—a letter A but upside down… Vincent turned back to the captain and said:
"V… V will be the name I use inside the Abyss."
The captain smiled at him:
"An excellent choice, kid… Now, how much do you know about the Abyss?"
Vincent shook his head and replied calmly:
"You could say I'm ignorant. I don't think I know much."
The captain wiped his face with disdain and said:
"This will be your first Nightmare Abyss, so be careful—humans there are craftier than the monsters. Even an Awakened might stab you at the first chance they get if they benefit from it."
He continued while lifting his hat off his head and putting it back on again:
"From your face, you look like you have zero skills, and you seem to have grown up in a place that teaches you nothing—just gives you food. And I doubt they even gave you that properly."
There is a special center for training Awakened and even non-Awakened in weapon handling and combat.
But those who enter such centers are only noble families or those with vast wealth. And Vincent? His pockets were so empty that a family of rats could live in them.
Vincent laughed to himself and thought:
'That's if they even gave us food… I sometimes stole the director's meals just to taste real food, away from the meals they gave us that even a dog wouldn't eat.'
Then he looked at the captain and said in an indifferent tone:
"I grew up in an orphanage, and sometimes I trained with a sword. I have some basic skills—maybe I can survive there for a while inside the Abyss."
The captain's expression turned into shock for a moment, but then a smile curled on his lips:
"Hmm, doesn't matter… since you have some skills. Even if you didn't, you'd still have to go, as long as the Abyssal Talisman chose you."
The captain stood up from his chair and left the room… Vincent pulled his hair back, wanting to cry, but unable to—as if his tears had dried out.
"Hahaha… what rotten luck I have. Must be because of that priestess who cursed me every time she saw me."
The captain came back in, holding a sword in his right hand and the Justice of the Hybrid card in his other hand…
Vincent straightened up in his seat, looking in surprise at the sword. The captain extended his hand and told him in a calm voice:
"Read what's on the back of the card, kid."
Vincent took the card, not knowing exactly what was happening around him… He looked at the captain, whose expression was calm, as if nothing scary was happening at all.
Vincent turned the card over and read the words written there:
[In the depths of the Abyss, survival, escape, and killing are your primary weapons—add to them your mind.]
[Nightmare of the Nameless Kingdom — You must kill the Cursed Creed for the dream to end.]
When he finished reading the text on the back of the card, he slowly lifted his head—only to notice the captain's sword already buried in his chest…
Transporting him into the world of Eternal Dreams and the nightmares in the depths of the Abyss.