The air outside was warm and strangely comforting.
I stepped through the open gigantic archway, out from the long-abandoned building into rolling open fields. The light made everything glow— soft, hazy gold over green.
Grass brushed my ankles. Small yellow flowers grew in bursts, vines curling over marble steps. To the side of the building was a running river.
Something about it reminded me of childhood museum trips. Ancient Rome. The kinds of ruins people romanticize after they've forgotten who bled to build them.
Except this wasn't a ruin of my world.
Birds chirped somewhere in the trees beyond. Something small— a squirrel or rabbit— darted past my peripheral vision. No divine humming in the air. No screams in the distance. Just quiet.
Far ahead, the last fingers of civilization reached toward the horizon: the curve of an aqueduct, the crumbled remains of towers. Time had buried most of it, leaving only ribs of history jutting out like bones.
Behind me, the temple loomed. Vast. Hollow. Save for a wide table in the middle.
Sunlight spilled through its tall openings, catching on massive silver chains that stretched from each column to the ceiling. They looked old, too, but different— untarnished, gleaming with a faint, impossible light. They weren't just decorative; they were massive, each link as thick as my torso, and they vanished into the shadows above as if they were holding the very sky in place. Or perhaps they had once held something down.
Heavy enough to hold titans, if titans existed. Why chains in a ceremonial hall? And why did they feel... watchful?
I shook the thought off. There was time for answers later. For now, I had a task.
[DAILY QUEST: Work Out]
Penalty: [Pain Simulation: 93% Authentic]
Reward: [Experience]
That was still floating in the corner of my vision. Just waiting.
I took a few more steps, scouting for a place to do my 'daily quest'. One with flat ground and shade from foliage nearby, in case I overheated.
There was a small clearing nestled between low bushes and sparse trees at the edge of a nearby grove. Decent space. No immediate threats.
I took off my stained shirt and folded it neatly over a rock.
My body... It still felt like mine. But only mostly. My bones moved smoother than they should. Muscles didn't feel sore. Not even tight. Reflexes a bit too clean.
It was as if someone had taken my old self and polished it, ironing out the human slack. The smoothness felt too perfect.
I began with breathing— four seconds in, hold for four, out for four. Reset the rhythm.
Then came the warm-up. Dynamic stretches. Knee drives. Shoulder rolls. High kicks.
After that, intensity.
Push-ups in slow tempo. Feet elevated. Clap push-ups. Then burpees. Fifty.
Pull-ups using a tree's branch. Core routines between sets. Weighted squats using a stone chunk I could barely lift.
A butterfly landed on my slipper mid-squat. It flapped away before I stood. The insects here didn't feel afraid.
Blood rushed hot through my ears. Heart rate controlled, but climbing.
I welcomed the burn. Pain wasn't new.
The devil-cat hadn't lied. The system did reward suffering.
[Muscle Activation Bonus Triggered]
[Current Quest Progress: 52%]
Noted.
I kept going. Sweat pooled at my collarbone, trailing down my chest. The sun beat down— bright, clear, and open.
My thoughts wandered despite the routine.
That moment after dying. Whatever she was— her words flowing like riddles.
Was this world her design?
Was I now a piece?
I dropped into another set, letting the movement dull the thinking. Muscles strained, but the pain felt distant. Measured. My body was adapting too fast.
Then there was the path.
[Alignment: Evil / Chaos]
It clung to me like something sticky. Not chosen for me, specifically. Just... applied. By what metric?
My father used to say the most dangerous thing in the world were cowards and hypocrites who pretend to be good. Then he went on to become the worst man I knew.
... Is that me now? Am I a coward? A hypocrite?
I resisted against my family, but now what? What if I become like him anyways? Because of that...
That spiral woman. She played a part in their degeneracy.
She's from this world.
What is she, if not the definition of evil and chaos? Is my alignment just a reflection of my history?
I grit my teeth, the outer area of my hands driving into the earth with every push-up.
So she's... an ascended one? And I'm supposed to follow in her path?
I'm not evil. And I never want to be.
If the system tracked morality by action, and not only motive, then...
[Current Path Affinity: Evil / Chaos]
My stomach tightened. I know what I had done to deserve that. What I had been complicit in.
Prudence— Is she also here? In this world.
I hoped so. Maybe she got dragged here too. Maybe she was smart enough to adapt, like always. Part of me wanted to find her, if only to make sure she was okay.
My mind flashes to what the being said: 'Prudence is still meaningful," And meaning is harder to kill than flesh.'
What had she meant by that?
[Current Quest Progress: 83%]
My mother's voice echoed faintly. 'If your body fails, you die. If your mind fails, you lose. Both must be strengthened— never trust power given for free.'
... There must be more to why I received this 'gift'.
She told me I had the potential to grow as strong as the spiral woman, essentially egging me on to rival her. But why does she want that in the first place?
Why did she move me here?
[QUEST: COMPLETE]
Reward Acquired:
➤ Experience
[Level up!]
[Level up!]
A flash of energy surged through me— brief, golden.
Progress. This is what I need. I should just get stronger for now.
The devil-cat was right. This wasn't just a tutorial zone. It was a place for me to hone my body.
But first, I need to explore my surroundings.
Breathing hard, I put my shirt back on, drinking water from the river before turning toward the broken city in the distance.