Time went by.
Or perhaps it didn't. Arin didn't know. There was no sound, no light, no rhythm to measure the seconds. He knew only that he was alive. His body was light, unmoored, suspended in a boundless sea of nothing.
Then gradually, consciousness returned. He could sense the dim outline of his hands, shaking in the void. When he lifted them, they pulsed with a dim radiance, nearly transparent, like light through water.
His breath caught.
I… I was dead. So why am I still alive?
The idea gnawed at his brain. His final memory was vivid—too vivid. Agony, terror, the last crack of life separating. He should be dead. But something held him here, anchored in this blackness.
"What is this…?" His voice was cracked, barely above a whisper.
The emptiness rippled in response. A noise floated toward him, gentle and sweet, a laugh so fine it bordered on being inappropriate here.
"Easy now," a voice eased, steady but peaceful. "You'll have your questions… just not all at once."
Arin stiffened. His heart—or whatever had taken its place—banged around wildly. "Who is that?" he barked, though his voice shook.
Shadows in front moved. A figure was formed out of pale, silver light by them. Her form glowed softly, as though the night itself had taken on a shape. When Arin saw her, his breath froze.
Her face… familiar. Not the way of remembering, but the way of déjà vu, the way of a dream recalled upon waking. Her eyes shone dimly, spilling light like stars, and her smile was comforting—calming, even here in this boundless darkness.
"You're no longer in the world you knew," she whispered, as if reporting a matter of fact. "This place is something else entirely."
Arin's throat constricted. "Another… world?" The words tasted strange on his lips. "But why… why do I not remember everything? I remember only—" He forced the words down. "How I died."
The glow on the girl's face intensified, her voice soothing. "That's to be expected. Death is… a heavy burden to bear. Your memories will come back in fragments. For now, you're here. That's all that counts."
Arin's heart thudded. None of this made sense. "Who are you? Are you… an angel?"
The girl rocked her head, her lips twisting into a gentle laugh. "Angel? No, nothing like that. Please think of me as your guide. I'm not a person like you—I'm a system. The system that came along with you when you crossed over."
"A… system?" Arin echoed back, the word odd, artificial in the stillness of the nothing.
She nodded. "Yes. But referring to me as 'system' is cold, doesn't it? If I'm going to go this road with you, it might be less difficult if I had a name."
Arin blinked at her, puzzled. "A name?"
"Exactly," she replied softly. "Something you can name me. Something to make all of this less… empty." She opened her glowing hands, gesturing out at the darkness. "I don't have one. Why don't you name me something?"
The request surprised him. Here he was, suspended between life and death, and she was requesting something so basic, so human. But the concept centered him. A name. Something tangible. Something known.
He hesitated. His head struggled through the fog, seeking something that felt right. And then, softly, a name emerged from somewhere deep within, a name that bore the power of comfort and loveliness.
".Iris," he breathed.
The girl of light appeared to shine all the brighter at the sound, her starry eyes losing some of their rigidity. "Iris," she echoed, rolling it on her tongue. "Yes. I like that. Thank you."
Arin experienced an odd relief at the name. Here in this infinite nothingness, where all was unfamiliar and frightening, to be given a name was to claim a small part of himself. But Iris wasn't done.
Her eyes lingered on him, aware. "And what about you?"
"Me?"
She nodded. "This world isn't like the one you came from. The life you knew—the person you were—it doesn't have to hold you here. You can use your old name, if you want… or begin anew."
Arin hesitated. His name. Arin. Hearing it said by her sounded strange, heavy, almost wrong. It bound him to memories already fading, to a death he could never escape. Did he truly want to bear that burden?
He knotted his fists. If this was indeed a new world… perhaps he needed a new him.
A name materialized slowly, surfacing from a place he could not quite put into words. A brief, solid word that weighed little on his tongue, but heavily in his chest.
".Kai," he said at last. "Use my name. Kai."
Iris's smile broadened, radiant like sunrise. "Kai," she repeated softly. "Yes. That fits you."
Her tone mellowed, nearly fond. "Here, in this world, you are Kai. And I. I am Iris. I will tell you, caution you, help you see. But don't forget—this path is one you must tread."
Kai exhaled a trembling breath, the bulge in his chest relaxing a little. A new name. A fresh beginning. Perhaps, perhaps he could have faith in that.
His tone was low as he asked, "So… now what do I do?"
"For the time being?" Iris's voice became stern. "You must go north. To the capital city. There is the Academy—a location where you will learn to master your power and endure what will come. It will take days to arrive. Make the most of that time to acclimate."
"But—" Questions flooded his tongue, but Iris just smiled, raising a finger to her lips.
"Not yet, Kai. Answers will be given when you're ready. For now… wake up. Survive. Live."
He couldn't protest before warmth flooded his chest, propagating throughout his entire body. The shadow curled off like the smoke on a windy day.
A light-gray sky loomed above him when he finally opened his eyes. Broad, expansive, nigh blinding in its cleanliness.
Kai stretched out on his back, the ground yielding beneath him. The tall grass bent around him, stirring against his arms as the wind caressed the field. In the distance, mountains towered sharp against the sky, their crests shrouded in floating mist.
He sat up slowly, his heart continuing to pound, his head a whirlwind of questions without answers. The air filled his lungs with a new freshness he had never experienced—cool, crisp, almost vibrating against his flesh. It wasn't Earth.
But one fact stood firm in his chest. He was alive. Somehow, miraculously, he had lived.
Kai strained to stand, stumbling unsteadily. His legs were odd, light, as if they belonged to someone else. The earth underfoot was yielding, the grass smoother than silk, tough yet springy.
He examined his hands and stiffened. They still glowed dimly, as they had in the emptiness. He curled and uncurled his fingers, observing the otherworldly light curl with them. Small sparks of light drifted about him, like fireflies in sunlight.
He touched it out of curiosity. One of the lights brushed against his fingertips and melted immediately, warmth spreading through his veins. A buzzing energy flowed down to his fingertips before dying.
Kai stood, gasping. This world. it exists. And it's not his.
The panic came back. "Iris," he breathed frantically. "If you're actually there. what the crap am I supposed to do now?"
As if prompted, the air rippled. A ghostly window materialized in front of him, suspended in the air with beautiful letters inscribed on it.
[ Name: Kai ]
[ Condition: Stable ]
[ Objective: Arrive at the Capital ]
[ World: Veridia ]
[ System Message: Welcome to Veridia, Kai. Your quest has begun. ]
Kai took a step back, surprised. "What—?!"
"I said I would," Iris's voice whispered in his mind, serene and unhurried. "I am here when you are ready. This is your gateway. It will guide you in knowing yourself and your way."
Kai's lips dried up. The pulsing screen, the voice inside his head—it wasn't a delusion. It was real. Evidence that all of this he had just gone through wasn't a dream
"Now," Iris whispered softly, "your path begins."
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