CHAPTER 1
The Moment of Death
| They say that when you die, your life flashes before your eyes.
| Kael found out it was a lie.
The rain fell on the alley with a muted sound as his body lay motionless. Every breath was an effort, every heartbeat a burning stab in his chest. Blood mixed with the dirty water, slowly washing away from him.
He didn't feel fear.
Only a bitter clarity.
So this is the end.
He tried to move his fingers. He couldn't. His half-open eyes caught a figure standing in front of him. A shadow. Too familiar.
—I'm sorry —the voice said—. But someone had to disappear.
Kael wanted to laugh.
He had trusted that person more than anyone.
The knife clattered to the ground. Nothing else was needed. His consciousness began to fade as the world slowed… became unreal.
And then, everything stopped.
The rain hung suspended in the air.
Darkness swallowed him.
A white flash consumed everything.
—Initializing transfer process…
The voice was neither human nor divine. It simply existed.
Kael felt himself floating, stripped of body and memory, in an infinite void.
—Am I… dead? —he murmured.
Symbols of light appeared before him.
ERROR
Standard reincarnation failed.
The light shattered like a broken mirror.
ALTERNATIVE PROTOCOL ACTIVATED
An unbearable pressure descended upon his soul.
—You have suffered enough to be chosen.
Kael felt a presence behind him. Something ancient. Something observing without emotion.
—Chosen… for what?
The answer came wrapped in pain.
ABYSS SYSTEM
Bond confirmed.
The agony erupted through every part of his being. Black marks burned into his skin as he screamed, though no one could hear him.
—Survive —the voice whispered—. Grow… or vanish like the others.
The void broke.
Kael awoke gasping in an unfamiliar forest.
The air was different. Heavier. More alive.
He looked at his hands. No wounds. No blood.
A floating message appeared before him.
Welcome to Aetherion
Level: 1
Status: Anomalous
Another message flickered, distorted.
Warning:
This system should not exist.
Kael clenched his fist.
—Then… I won't waste this life.
From the depths of the forest, glowing eyes watched him from the darkness.
END OF CHAPTER 1