Chapter 1 – Peaceful, they said
I used to imagine dying would be loud.
Screaming, crying, machines beeping, people panicking.
But mine was quiet.
A nurse adjusting my IV. My mother was sitting in the corner, asleep in the chair she'd practically claimed. My sister leaned on the windowsill, headphones on, eyes somewhere just staring into the distance seemingly lost in thought.
No alarms. No chaos. Just that cold, creeping silence. The kind that tells you the end is near — not with a bang, but a whisper.
They still didn't have a name for my condition.
Something rare. Something slow. Something genetic.
They told me I had a few years while I was still a kid, but "luckily", I made it to eighteen.
I spent the last year mostly in bed.
Muscles withering, my Lungs collapsed
twice.Couldn't even hold down solid food. Couldn't stand without vomiting. Couldn't walk without feeling like my legs were made out of glass.
But the worst part?
Time.
You can only stare at the ceiling so long before it starts to look back.
There was one thing that made it bearable.
A fantasy novel.
"The crowned hero and his seven vows."
A long, ridiculous name for a series that shouldn't have mattered.
But for me, it became everything.
Ten volumes of magic, war, kingdoms, and monsters. A world where people trained, fought, fell, rose again.
A world where pain meant purpose.
Not waiting.
My sister, Mina, was the only one who never gave me pity.
She'd sit by my bed, headphones in one ear, reading a different book than me but always there keeping me company.
She was younger by two years, but stronger than I ever was. Fought with our mother constantly. Skipped school to take care of me. Learned how to change my sheets, clean my wounds, helped the nurses when she could.
I never told her, but I hated being her burden.
I'd watch her sleep in the chair beside my hospital bed and wonder how many more nights she'd lose just because I kept breathing.
That night, I remember everything.
The air in my lungs felt heavier than usual.
The machines hummed, quietly ticking off the numbers.
I looked at the wall.
Volume 10 of The Sword King's Oath sat on the tray table. Open to the chapter where the hero duels the Death Lord alone, knowing he's going to lose.
My vision blurred.
My chest tightened.
I didn't call the nurse.
I just thought:
I wish I'd had more time.
Not to fight. Not to be a hero.
Just… to live without hurting all the time.
To see my sister smile without worrying if it was her last chance.
I blinked.
And the world went black.
When I opened my eyes, I was standing.
Not in a hospital. Not in a bed. Not surrounded by beeping machines.
I was alone.
In a black void.
Floating in front of me was a pale blue screen.
[WELCOME, PARTICIPANT.]
[SOUL-STABILIZATION: COMPLETE.]
[INITIALIZING TUTORIAL REALM…]
[ASSIGNED ROLE: EXTRA]
[COMBAT CLASS: IRON (UNAWAKENED)]
[SWORD SKILL: ★ (BEGINNER)]
[STARTING WEAPON: RUSTED TRAINING SWORD]
[PLEASE STAND BY.]
An "extra"? What was this?
Another hallucination?
A dream?
But when I tried to move, I could.
No IVs. No pain. No oxygen tube.
I flexed my fingers. Made a fist.
The strength surprised me.
[BEGIN.]
Then suddenly,
The floor vanished.
And I fell.