Ronan tried to focus.
The forest blurred at the edges of his vision, the mist stretching into long, colorless streaks. His thoughts felt heavy, as if sinking through thick water. Every attempt to grasp reality slipped through his fingers.
Stay awake.
But the chill deepened, not around him but inside him. His senses dulled. Sound faded first, then sight, until even the weight of his own body seemed to disappear.
Ronan fell.
Or perhaps he drifted.
…
He stood in nothingness.
There was no ground. No sky. No light or darkness. Just an endless, neutral void, as if reality itself had been stripped down to its most basic form. He felt no cold here, no warmth either. Even his grief felt distant, muted.
Then a voice spoke.
"The Leveller welcomes thee, resident of 89ujr7889hjerror."
The words were perfectly clear yet carried no presence. The voice was smooth and plain, neither male nor female. It held no emotion, no curiosity, no judgment.
Ronan swallowed. "Who… what are you?"
"I am the Leveller," the voice replied. "I exist to equalize, to assign, to observe. You have crossed the threshold between planes."
"Am I… dead?" Ronan asked quietly.
There was a pause. Measured. Deliberate.
"Your status is dead," the Leveller said. "Your existence, however, persists."
Ronan clenched his fists. "Then why am I here?"
"To be informed."
Something flickered before his eyes, a faint shimmer, like heat rising from stone.
"To view your status," the Leveller continued, "focus your intent inward. Will the interface to appear. Thought governs perception."
Ronan hesitated, then followed the instruction. He imagined seeing, not with his eyes, but with his mind.
The shimmer sharpened.
"You will now be returned to the real plane of existence," the voice said. "Survive, grow, or be erased. The system will not intervene further."
"Wait!" Ronan called out.
The void collapsed.
…
Cold slammed into him.
Ronan gasped as the forest snapped back into place. Twisted trees. Low mist. Oppressive silence. He stumbled forward, barely keeping his balance.
I'm back.
Out of habit, his chest rose, though his heart did not beat. He remembered the Leveller's words.
Focus inward.
He did.
The world froze.
A translucent screen unfolded before him, hovering in the air as if reality itself had been overwritten.
Ronan's breath caught.
The shock struck him like a physical blow.
His knees gave out and he crashed onto the forest floor, dead leaves crunching beneath him. His vision swam as disbelief washed over him.
"No way…" he muttered.
After several shaky breaths, he pushed himself up and looked again.
The screen remained.
Status Window
Name: Ronan
Level: 1
Abilities: none
Skills: none
Title: none
Status: dead
NOTE: OTHERS CANNOT SEE YOUR STATUS UNLESS YOU ALLOW IT
Ronan stared at the words, his mind racing.
A system…?
Fragments of memory surfaced. Late nights as a teenager. Anime. Light novels. Worlds governed by rules, levels, and screens just like this.
"…This is just like those," he whispered.
Except this wasn't fiction.
His hands trembled as he reached out. The screen rippled faintly in response, confirming its reality.
A dry laugh escaped him. "So this is my afterlife…"
While his attention remained fixed on the screen, the forest behind him shifted.
Silently.
From the shadows between two gnarled roots, something began to move.
Black.
Thick.
Glossy, like living tar.
It oozed forward inch by inch, clinging to the ground, making no sound and leaving no trace. Its surface pulsed slowly, as if breathing.
Ronan didn't notice.
The status screen glowed softly before him.
The thing behind him drew closer.