Chapter 1: Awakening in Crimson
Jason's eyes snapped open, his chest heaving, breath fogging in the cold. He lay sprawled amid Kaldor's ruins, jagged stone digging into his back, a torn leather coat clinging to his frame. Pain lanced through a scar above his brow, a glowing welt that pulsed with each heartbeat. In his grip, a crimson stone—the Farthalin—burned, its surface etched with sigils that whispered: Farthalin. No memories anchored him, only instincts forged in war. I've survived hell before. A vision flashed—Earth, a desert ambush, his squad pinned under gunfire, his voice barking orders—but it crumbled, names and faces lost. Focus.
Mist swirled through the ruins, cloaking shattered arches etched with faint glyphs, their blue and purple glow flickering like dying stars. The air hummed, a discordant drone that set his teeth on edge. This isn't Earth. His boots scraped stone as he stood, the Farthalin's warmth both comfort and threat. What are you? A system message flickered in his mind, sharp as a heads-up display: [System Insight: Awaken in Kaldor. Reward: 100 Resolve Points. Resolve Points: 100%.] What the hell? He blinked, but the text lingered, alien yet clear. A game? No—too real. Blood trickled from a cut on his arm, grounding him. 250% Resolve Points—what does that even mean? His soldier's mind churned, trying to parse the message, but it felt like a lifeline he couldn't yet grasp.
The ruins stretched endlessly—crumbled spires, broken plazas, glyphs pulsing faintly on every surface. Like a city bombed to rubble. His soldier's instincts kicked in, scanning for threats. The Farthalin's pulse quickened, its sigils glowing brighter. It's alive. Another vision hit—soldiers, blood, a radio's static fading—but he shoved it down, gripping the stone. Not now. Footsteps crunched in the mist, deliberate and close. Company. He crouched behind a pillar, its glyphs dim, his free hand finding a jagged rock. Weapon enough.
Three figures emerged, clad in scavenged armor—leather and steel patched together, blades etched with crude glyphs. Insurgents. Their eyes glinted, forsaken turned rogue, hunger in their stares. "He's got the Farthalin," one rasped, his blade glinting. They know it. Jason's scar throbbed, the Farthalin's whisper louder: Fight. The rogues charged, glyphs flaring red. Jason moved, instincts fluid, smashing the rock into the first rogue's jaw, bone cracking. The second swung, blade slicing his coat. Pain flared, but he twisted, slamming the rogue into the pillar, air whooshing from his lungs.
The third raised a glyph, its light blinding—then froze, collapsing as a green rune flashed from the mist. A woman stepped forward, blonde hair catching the glyph-light, green eyes sharp as blades. Her rune-embroidered robe shimmered, a glowing stone in her hand. She's a pro. "You're not one of them," she said, voice steady, scanning the rogues' bodies. Jason gripped the Farthalin, its sigil calming his pulse. "Who are you?" he asked, voice rough. "Lynn, forsaken of Kaldor," she replied, her rune stone dimming. "This city chews up loners. Come with me."
The system pinged: [System Insight: Survived ambush. Reward: 150 Resolve Points. Resolve Points: 250%.] She's my ticket. Lynn turned, her robe swaying, but the mist thickened, shadows shifting. More out there. Jason followed, blade in hand, the Farthalin's whisper coiling in his mind. Kaldor's alive… and it's hunting me.
They moved through the ruins, Lynn's steps sure despite the uneven ground. "What is this place?" Jason asked, his voice low, eyes darting to the flickering glyphs on a nearby spire. Lynn glanced back, her expression guarded. "Kaldor's a graveyard of the rune-war," she said. "Centuries ago, the glyphs held this world together—power, order, life. Then the forsaken turned them into weapons. Now it's just ruins, beasts, and scavengers. You're lucky I found you before a glyph-beast did." Rune-war. The term echoed in Jason's mind, matching the Farthalin's whispers. "Glyph-beast?" he pressed, gripping the stone tighter.
"Monsters born from corrupted glyphs," Lynn replied, her rune stone glowing faintly as she scanned the mist. "They hunt anything that moves. The forsaken—some like me, some rogue—fight over what's left. That Farthalin you're holding? It's a relic from the war. Makes you a target." Great. Jason's scar pulsed, the Farthalin's warmth spreading up his arm. "And the system? Resolve Points?" he asked, the words feeling foreign on his tongue. Lynn's eyes narrowed, studying him. "You're new. The system's tied to Kaldor's grid. It tracks your will to survive—Resolve Points. Use them to unlock the Farthalin's power, but don't let them hit zero. You'll wish you were dead."
Before Jason could respond, a low growl rumbled through the mist, the ground trembling faintly. Lynn froze, her rune stone flaring green. "Glyph-beast," she whispered, drawing a dagger etched with runes. "Stay close." The mist parted, revealing a hulking creature—twice Jason's height, its body a mass of jagged stone and glowing blue glyphs, eyes burning with void-black light. That's no insurgent. The beast roared, glyphs flaring, and charged. Jason's instincts kicked in, diving aside as a massive claw smashed the ground where he'd stood, stone splintering.
Lynn moved like a dancer, her dagger slashing a green rune into the air. The rune exploded into vines, wrapping the beast's legs, but it tore free, glyphs pulsing brighter. "Aim for the glyphs!" she shouted, dodging a swipe. Jason gripped the Farthalin, its sigils blazing crimson. Fight. He lunged, slamming the stone into the beast's nearest glyph. The impact sent a shockwave up his arm, the glyph shattering in a burst of blue light. The beast howled, staggering, but another glyph on its back flared, healing the damage. It regenerates?
Lynn threw another rune, this one a burst of green flame that seared the beast's side. "Keep hitting the glyphs!" she yelled. Jason ducked a claw, sweat stinging his eyes, and struck again, the Farthalin's crimson light flaring brighter with each hit. The beast's glyphs dimmed, its movements slowing, until a final strike to its core glyph sent it crumbling into rubble, the blue light fading. Jason panted, the Farthalin's warmth steadying his shaking hands. The system pinged: [System Insight: Defeated glyph-beast. Reward: 200 Resolve Points. Resolve Points: 450%.]
Lynn sheathed her dagger, her rune stone dimming. "Not bad for a newbie," she said, a faint smirk on her lips. "But that was a small one. We need to move—bigger ones will smell the fight." Jason nodded, the Farthalin's whisper louder now: Power. Kaldor's ruins loomed around them, glyphs flickering like a warning. This place wants me dead. He followed Lynn into the mist, ready for whatever came next.