My head hurts, it's like I have a migraine, which only rarely happened to me — and when I say rarely, I mean it's only happened 3 or 4 times after a night out.
I place my hand on my forehead and open my eyes. As I look around, I quickly realize I'm in a cemetery that seems lost deep in the woods. I don't think a single person has set foot in this place for a very long time — the gravestones are covered in long vines.
What the hell was I doing here?! I mean, I've woken up in random guys' beds, in the middle of the street, or even in a jail cell, but waking up in the middle of nowhere in a graveyard? That's a first. I try to remember what happened before I woke up. I remember arguing with my parents — well, mostly with my mom.
Yeah, that's right, she made a comment that honestly sent me over the edge. What kind of mother says something like that to her own kid, seriously?! That's why I left the house — I wanted to go to Saint Bathory Asylum. It's a peaceful place, and I know Dr. Ansia could've been a good mediator and maybe even lectured my parents. But halfway there, a van pulled up and some people kidnapped me.
Who could have kidnapped me? I'm nothing special, really. I figured maybe traffickers — but even if that's who it was, why am I here now? It makes no sense.
Eventually, I get up. I'm still wearing my part-time job uniform — a fast-food staff outfit. Guess I'll have to deal with it until I find better clothes. I start walking around the cemetery, looking for a way out. Along the way, I notice something on my right wrist — some kind of thick black metallic bracelet. I don't remember ever putting it on. It's ugly, so there's no way I would've worn it voluntarily.
As I leave the cemetery, I hear footsteps. I brace myself, afraid it might be a trafficker or some huge creature, but to my surprise, it's neither — it's Romuald, holding a silver sword and walking toward me menacingly.
I've known him since middle school. I've never liked him. He's a Zyvari who's always been a pain, and recently he tried to convince me to give in to his flirting, which I flat-out refused. He only did all that because I supposedly tried to flirt with his girlfriend — which was partially true.
As much as I hate the guy, he might have information — either about where I am or what's going on.
"Hey, Romuald… what are you doing here?"
He raises his sword toward me. This wasn't good. I step back a few paces.
"You killed her… You killed Melinda! I'll never forgive you!"
He shouted at me as I backed away, shocked by what he'd just said. I never killed Melinda! I would never kill anyone — and now he's accusing me of that?!
"I didn't do anything! Are you stupid or what?!"
I yell back, trying to reason with him. He's not muscular, but he's clever and unpredictable. I'm agile, and I know how to fight, but I can't say I'm particularly clever — plus, I don't have a weapon. As I try to come up with a plan, Romuald charges at me with his sword.
"Die, Roxy! Die!"
I immediately start running into the woods, trying to avoid branches and not trip. But when I look behind me, Romuald is getting dangerously close — much faster than I expected. I didn't know he was that fast, and I was scared that speed might be the end of me.
In a final attempt to catch me, Romuald tackles me to the ground. I land on my back and try to struggle, but he has me pinned. He's holding both my arms above my head, so he can't use his weapon — but his weight makes it nearly impossible to fight back.
"Leave me alone, damn it!"
Romuald punches me in the head when I scream, and I nearly black out. I see now he's managed to free one of his hands, and with the other, he's still holding the sword high above.
"For glory!"
He shouts as he prepares to kill me. I stop struggling — it's no use. I'm done for. But suddenly, I hear the ground vibrating — something is coming, fast. Heavy footsteps are thundering toward me and then, out of nowhere, a half-human bear creature jumps in to save me, throwing Romuald into the distance against a tree. He ends up unconscious — the blow from the Borruun was incredibly strong.
Borruuns are very tall half-humans, over two meters tall. They have fur on the ends of their limbs, clawed hands and feet, and deep, heavy voices. Slowly, my eyes start to close — the hit from that bastard Romuald really messed me up, and I suspect I wasn't fully rested to begin with.
I eventually wake up again, but this time, the environment is supernatural. I find myself in some kind of void — completely black, no light, nothing — just a ground I can walk on, left and right. After taking a few steps, suddenly, a light turns on, like a spotlight just lit up a stage, and that light reveals a silhouette I recognize: a woman in her fifties, with gray hair and eyes of different colors — this time, one pink and one cyan blue. She's once again wearing her signature white lab coat.
Without a doubt, this person is none other than Doctor Denasaia Ansia, the director of the Saint Bathory asylum. She's intelligent but unpredictable, and sometimes resorts to extreme actions to solve the problems she encounters. Still, Roxy feels a sense of relief upon seeing her — she has a face that puts Roxy at ease.
"Doctor!"
She doesn't say a word and calmly walks toward me with a rather neutral expression.
"Hello, Roxy. I'm glad to know you're doing better."
Denasaia takes a few more steps toward me.
"What am I doing here…? Is this a dream?"
She shakes her head, then softly replies with a mysterious tone:
"If this were a dream, everything would be different. But I'm not a dream — I'm simply communicating inside your mind. Unfortunately, I don't have much time. I'm being held somewhere."
I quickly move toward Denasaia to take her hand, but mine passes right through hers.
"My spirit has no physical form. But, Roxy, you're my last hope."
My heart starts racing. Her last hope? She had never expected anything from me — but now, it feels like she's placing the entire burden of the Saint Bathory Institute on my shoulders.
"What do you mean? What happened?!"
Roxy says, starting to panic. She had people she cared about at the asylum.
"Do you know what a Deadhorse is, Roxy?"
I'd heard the name in history class before. They were powerful beings who ruled over our planet before the arrival of the half-human gods. They eventually disappeared after being defeated by heroes.
"More or less?"
I say, a bit unsure, not knowing where Dena is going with this.
"Those ancient gods have returned to life, and they've taken control of the world."
Roxy's heart breaks instantly. What Denasaia just said was the equivalent of, "I survived the apocalypse."
"And what do you want me to do about it?"
"They don't have physical forms yet — that's why they've organized a massive competition. They've kidnapped 10,000 teenagers and young adults over the last ten years. There are 100 Deadhorses, and each one has 100 young people under their command… The goal is for only one survivor to remain per Deadhorse representative. Their objective is to take over those bodies and return to the world in physical form. To do that, all participants must go through the trials of the 100 Deadhorses in order to receive a 'wish' — which, obviously, is a complete lie, Roxy! Don't fall for it."
I'm stunned. It all sounds so unreal, so bizarre. But if it's true, I'm screwed — and the world is too. But what does Denasaia want me to do? And which Deadhorse was I assigned to?
"I'll ask again — what do you want me to do?"
Denasaia smiles at me once more.
"I removed you from the control of the Deadhorse you were assigned to. So now, if you manage to complete the 100 trials… you can save the world!"
I blink several times and let out a small, nervous laugh.
"Wait… You really want me to do that? But that's impossible."
The doctor turns around, showing me her back.
"You're capable of great things, Roxy — more than anyone else. I've felt that potential since the day I met you."
I sigh slightly, but in the end, I nod.
"I'll do my best… but don't count on me to succeed."
"My time is up… Good luck, Roxy. Good luck."
Denasaia begins to fade away, leaving me alone in the darkness.
"Wake up… Wake up…"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lore informations :
Zyvaris : They are semi-humans mixed with foxes from the canine tree, they have fox tails and ears, they lives in tribes but loves being independant, they lives in temparate climate and we can mostly find them either on Okamoto Island or in the Empire, they tend to be negotiator or merchants. They are excellent sprints and accrobats and can detect peoples from distances thanks to their keen eyes. Their god is Vorpes
Borruns : They are semi-humans mixed with bears, they can go as tall as 2 meters to 2 meters and 50, they have furs at the extremity of their legs and arms, they have claw and they have heavy voices. They lives in tribes near the mountains mostly in the old countries of the coalition. They are pretty powerful
Felkaï: From the Feline family, Felkaï are a race of humans with cat features, they are agile, flexible, possess nightvision and have a keen hearings, they are known for being scouts, hunters, explorers, leather makers or accrobats. Their godess is Obronia and they mostly live in Neko City in majority