The night wind crept through the window cracks, carrying the chill of December. On the stone floor, the moonlight shattered like broken glass. Ari sat against the wall, his shirt torn, blood flowing from his mouth like a flood, his eyes deep and full of resentment, hands gripping a letter he had not yet sent, yet already having killed someone he once considered a brother—a hatred devoid of cruelty, replaced by a thrill in murdering his own kin. In October, they had laughed and dined together; now, the flame of that affection had been extinguished.
"You betrayed us,"—that voice echoed in his head, repeating each word. It was the voice of the one he had trusted most. His bloodied friend, crushed by his cruelty. Ari had once believed that in that world, loyalty and keeping promises were enough. But in the end, trust became a trap. When everything collapsed, those who had held his hand in oath were the first to throw stones.
Ari looked at his hands—covered in dust, ashes, and the remnants of faith.
"In the end, I was just a pawn."
In the darkness, old memories surged like a flood—laughter, vows, calls in the rain, then the screams of someone as everything shattered. They saw him as a pawn, yet he smashed the entire chessboard, hands stained with blood, eyes reddening, the mind of a madman. No light remained. No one to call out to. In that final moment, as the flame of trust died, Ari felt his body growing heavier, the burns throbbing, flesh falling apart, lips cracked, and a curse settling deep within. Nothing hurts more than being misunderstood—not by enemies, but by those who once called him "brother." They knew he was evil but always treated him as good… Do I deserve to die?
He could not recall the ending clearly. Only that he fell, mind hazy, ethereal, good people reduced to dried-up monkeys, and the world suddenly silent. All sensation faded, leaving only an immense emptiness.
---
The Void
No light. No darkness. Just a "place" beyond definition. Ari did not know who he was, or what form he existed in. No body, no voice. Only thought—raw and solitary.
"Am I dead?"
His own voice echoed in his mind, silent. No response. Only oppressive stillness, heavy enough to crush the mind. Time—or something like it—stretched infinitely. In the void, Ari felt himself disintegrating, powerless to act, yet unable to vanish completely. Every time his soul dimmed, an invisible thread pulled him back.
Then, in the midst of nothingness, a sound arose—a cracked bell.
[Initialization: Incomplete soul. Re-establish consciousness. Kill more to discover self-worth.]
The sound was cold, indifferent. Like a system operating by rules with no one at the helm. Ari didn't understand. Yet in that instant, he felt his body once more.
---
Awakening
He opened his eyes. A dim blue light covered the stone ceiling. The air was damp, heavy with the scent of wet earth. The walls before him were etched with strange glowing symbols. He sat up, breathing hard. The first sensation—heaviness. This body seemed not entirely his own. Yet when he touched his chest, his heart still beat.
"Am I… still alive?"
No. The previous memories remained intact. He had died—clear as a knife against the throat. So where was this place? Ari stepped out of the room and saw the world beyond. A silver forest, moonlight dissolving in mist, each falling leaf faintly glowing. In the distance, the ruins of toppled monuments—yet no sign of humans. On the sky, stars drifted slowly—not floating, but shifting positions. A world running by its own rules. Ari whispered,
"Valghen…"
The word appeared in his mind for no apparent reason, as if another's memory had intruded.
---
The First Truth
On the first day in this world, Ari felt only emptiness. No one around, no traces of life except strange creatures drifting in the fog. He did not feel hunger, thirst, or fatigue. Only one sensation: loneliness.
"Is this a punishment?" he wondered.
Then, on the second night, as the moon changed color, Ari saw in the water's reflection—his face had changed. His eyes glowed with a strange blue light, veins beneath his skin faintly illuminated. Within his body, something was operating, as if a soul bound by rules. From the subconscious, a voice of an unseen system spoke:
[No liberation of the soul. Law: Eternal survival.]
Ari laughed faintly.
"Eternal? After all this, I do not even have the right to die?"
---
Experimentation
On the third night, he tried stabbing his hand into a sharp rock by the pond. Pain—but no blood. Only a faint blue light spread, then vanished. The pain lingered, but the body remained unscathed. When he tried harder, his body disintegrated into light, then reformed as before. No blood. No scar.
[Reinitialization: Soul may not dissolve.]
Ari knelt, gripping the earth. In that moment, he understood: Death had abandoned him.
---
"If I cannot die, then why do I exist?"
The wind swept through the ruins, carrying the echo of that question. Ari looked at the sky—stars shifting, forming a spiral. A world without end, without beginning, without redemption. He walked on, carrying silent despair, no more tears, no more pain. Only one resolve: to understand why he had been brought here—and who had claimed dominion over even his death.