My vision blurred. My breathing came heavy—ragged—as though I'd just sprinted beside death itself.
Above, the sky bled crimson, pulsing faintly—as if it were alive and dying in the same breath.
Thunderbolts cracked through the clouds, rattling my very bones. Fireballs slammed into the earth. The river—once alive and flowing—froze solid in an instant, its surface splintering into jagged shards of ice.
The sight alone made a shiver crawl down my spine, cold and slow like death's finger tracing it.
I didn't know what was happening, how I got here—hell, I didn't even know if "safe zones" still existed.
I tried to stand but my knees quivered—aching like I'd been running for years.
As I steadied myself, my eyes caught a glimpse of my hands; they were weak and trembling, too, but they were stained with blood. Not just any blood. My blood.
Before I could think, a scream ripped through the air—raw, desperate—and was silenced just as fast by an explosion that split the ground beneath me.
I gulped hard. The air reeked of smoke and burnt metal, the heat licking my face like a furnace door left open.
It wasn't a nightmare. It was real. Every sound. Every drop of blood. Every scream.
I was standing in the middle of an Apocalypse.
For ten long seconds, I just stood there—let the chaos swallow me whole: the screams, the smoke, the dread.
Then instinct took over. My legs moved before my brain caught up—running not for safety, but for answers I wasn't ready to find. To search for an escape....for answers.
How did I get here?
When did everything end?
And above all—what the hell was I supposed to do now?
✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦
Chaos. Screams. Fireballs and ice spears sliced through the air. I ducked, twisted, dodged—until pain exploded in my knee. My pulse pounded there and my ears rang, turning the world into a muffled blur.
I kept running—despite the pain, despite the way the air made me want to give up.
The farther I ran, the colder it got—like the world itself was freezing over behind me.
Was it salvation?
Maybe solace?
Behind me, explosions roared, shaking the ground.
The sky dimmed—as if it, too, was exhausted of fighting a war it couldn't win.
I scanned the horizon—no humans, no life. Only gapping rifts tearing the sky apart, vomiting monsters like nightmares come alive.
I forgot to look ahead. The cliff came too fast. My foot caught on something and suddenly I was I was tumbling—rolling down a jagged slope that tore at my skin.
Everything blurred. A branch tore into my arm, my leg twisted painfully, and then—crack—my head met stone.
Was this really it? Not a battle. Not a sacrifice. Just chaos swallowing me whole.
The thought barely finished before my vision fractured again—blackness flooding in.
And as the darkness took me, one thought clawed its way through the noise— "Why me?"
❖ PHASE II: IT ISN'T THE END—YET? ❖
I couldn't feel my body.
From my head to my toes, everything was numb. The atmosphere around me was void—cold, silent, and endless. I floated in the middle of it all, my body, or whatever it was, felt light... like a feather resting on still water.
"...Hello?"
My voice scattered like dust into the void. No echo, no answer—just enough silence to drown one's thoughts.
I thought it was the end. Until awareness crept in—like a crack of light breaking through a dying sky.
No gods. No demons. No monsters clawing at my soul.
Only emptiness—patient, watchful, waiting.
Then something cut through the silence.
It wasn't sound. It wasn't speech.
It was a vibration that crawled beneath my skin. When it finally shaped itself into words, it wasn't a voice at all.
It was metal given breath.
"Fragment Synchronization: Incomplete."
"Core not detected. Identity: Unknown."
"Eidolon Link — unstable."
"Excuse me?" I asked, my voice raw with desperation for answers.
The voice didn't respond immediately.
"So, this is how I go out?" I shouted. "Not because of a heroic sacrifice or anything—just like this?"
Then the voice came again—colder this time, almost questioning.
"Identity file: Corrupt."
"Name: ...Li..am."
"Core: Unstable."
"Rank: E-rank."
"Memory integrity: Fragmented."
"Restoration — denied."
"Condition for retrieval: Ascend to Rank SSS."
"Only through full synchronization will the vessel reclaim its identity."
I froze. "Wait—what does that mean? My memories—my family—"
"Directive: Survive. Evolve. Restore the Core."
"Failure to ascend will result in permanent memory erosion."
The void pulsed once—like the world itself exhaling—and the voice faded, leaving behind only a single whisper of code that echoed through my head:
"Fragment of Godhood detected... awakening deferred."
Fragment of Godhood? What does that even mean?
Before I could get an answer, I felt my body fall—down an endless pit.
Words couldn't describe it. I just knew I was falling through a dark abyss without end... until everything paused—
❖ PHASE III: WHERE AM I? ❖
"Ah!" my head hurt so much I could feel it bleeding. I couldn't think straight. I scanned the arena; I was in a deserted area. Skulls half-buried in the sand, and silence hung heavy in the air.
Then, I glanced at my hands, they were still a bit messy, the blood was dried now, my knees were still weak but I could afford to stand but I didn't do so immediately.
Then a holographic screen materialized into reality; as its blue light sliced through the dimness Lines of code scrolled endlessly until they finally stabilized into something readable:
[Status: Active]
Name: Liam (Fragmented)
Rank: E-Rank (Unstable Core)
Energy Output: 12%
Physical Fatigue: 87%
Mental Integrity: Critical
Core Synchronization: 4%
Recovery Recommended.
Before I could even process that, a vial of liquid light materialized in front of me—suspended in the air like it was waiting for me to take it. The label shimmered faintly:
[Regeneration Serum: Basic]
Use to restore cellular structure and minor core stabilization.
"...A potion?" I muttered under my breath, still panting.
The bottle dissolved into light and surged into my chest the moment I touched it.
A soft warmth spread through my veins, glowing faintly beneath my skin. The throbbing in my head dulled. The sting in my knees faded. The exhaustion that clung to my bones like tar began to lift.
I exhaled shakily, staring at my trembling hands. "Guess that's one mystery solved…"
The system's voice echoed again—stoic, emotionless, mechanical:
"Vital signs stabilized. Neural synchronization increased to 6%. Continue progress."
And then—silence again. The kind that made you hear your heartbeat in your skull.
I clenched my fist. "You want me to ascend, right? You want me to remember who I am?"
I looked up at the dark, endless sky—its crimson hue still faintly pulsing.
"Fine," I whispered, voice steady now. "I'll climb your damn ladder. I'll find my past. I'll fix what's broken."
I took one shaky step forward—the sand crunching beneath my boots.
"Even if it kills me... I'll remember."
⋯ ❖ ⋯