Darkness.
A darkness so dense it felt as if the world had never known light at all.
But slowly, something seeped in thin glimmers, like fragments of light leaking through a crack that shouldn't exist. It wasn't warm. It didn't bring hope. It was merely a reminder that darkness wasn't the only thing in existence.
A faint vibration crawled across his skin.
Cold.
Cold like touching something that wasn't alive.
Someone or perhaps something—opened his eyes.
His eyelids lifted slowly, heavy, as though they had been shut for centuries. And the world greeted him with a dull, somber face. A cracked wooden ceiling, cobwebs hanging like dead veins, and dust drifting aimlessly as if dancing without rhythm.
Damp air filled his lungs. Not fresh. Not foul. Just… silent.
This place once had been a home.
Now it felt more like a tomb.
He tried to move his body.
Heavy.
Rigid.
As if he was inhabiting a body that didn't belong to him.
The first thought that emerged wasn't:
"Where am I?"
But instead:
"Who… am I?"
The question dropped into the depths of his mind like a stone into an empty lake.
No ripples.
No answers.
Only emptiness echoing back at him.
No name.
No face in his memory.
No past.
Only one sensation remained:
Sadness.
Sadness without reason.
He drew a trembling breath. And in the midst of that crushing silence, something appeared in the air.
A transparent panel.
Floating.
Soundless.
Source unknown.
Its pale blue light pulsed faintly.
[SYSTEM]
Initiating scan…
ERROR.
User data: Not found.
Memory: Unreadable.
His body tensed.
"W-what… is this…?" His voice was hoarse, as if unused for years.
Just as he was about to touch the panel, it flickered—not because of any sound disturbance, but as if its very existence was unstable—and then vanished.
Silence returned.
Thicker than before.
More suffocating.
He forced his body to stand fully. The wooden floor creaked beneath his feet, the sound like a small scream in the overwhelmingly quiet room.
He looked around.
Wooden walls speckled with thin moss.
Torn curtains hanging loosely, shifting slightly though no wind touched them.
The air itself felt… wrong.
Not like ordinary air.
There were faint flashes dust that seemed to blink.
He turned away, trying to ignore the dread waking at the base of his spine. On the dusty floor, something caught his eye: a picture frame.
He reached for it.
A thick layer of dust coated the glass.
He wiped it slowly.
And he saw himself.
A faint, almost forced smile—like someone trying to look happy for someone else. Next to him stood another figure, but the face…
Was torn away.
Ripped violently.
Erased completely.
His heart sank.
Who would want to remove that face… so viciously?
He flipped the photo over.
Faint writing clung to the back:
If you found this… it means the program has begun to crack.
And they are looking for you.
A chill raced through him.
Before he could process the meaning, he heard something.
A creak.
He jerked his gaze toward the door leading to the next room.
Silence.
As if no sound had ever existed.
But he knew he heard it.
Holding his breath, he walked toward the window. The torn curtain shifted as if waiting to be lifted. He raised it slightly.
A dark forest.
Tall trees shaped like the silhouettes of ancient beings.
Roots crawling like frozen old veins.
Mist creeping slowly, too evenly—like a repeating pattern.
No birds.
No insects.
No wind.
An unnatural silence.
Between the trees…
two tiny points reflected light.
Like eyes.
Unmoving.
Unblinking.
He stepped back slowly.
Suddenly, the system panel appeared again right in front of him, startling him.
[SYSTEM]
Warning: Unknown entity detected.
Recommendation: Leave the area immediately.
Next memory scan: 0%…
The panel faded once more.
Silence.
Too much silence.
From the next room, something fell.
Not loudly.
But enough to freeze the breath in his lungs.
As if something… or someone… had just stood up.
He didn't wait.
He didn't dare.
He grabbed the front door handle.
Creak.
Then it opened.
White light spilled in from outside.
Not natural light.
Light that fractured thin lines, unstable fragments, as though the world beyond struggled to maintain its shape.
A cold forest breeze touched his face.
He stepped outside.
The forest welcomed him with a silence far heavier than the room behind.
The trees leaned at unnatural angles, as if the world wasn't fully constructed. The mist followed his movements slowly, as though watching him.
No sound.
Only his heartbeat.
Then the panel appeared again—more stable this time.
[SYSTEM]
Verifying core data…
Memory fragment found.
Identifying user name:
KAEL ASTERIN
Kael held his breath.
The name felt… warm.
Strange.
And painful—like a memory refusing to surface.
The panel vanished.
---
Somewhere far away, there was a room.
Dark.
So dark that the boundaries between floor and wall were indistinguishable.
The only light came from floating holographic screens. Each displayed a map of a digital world, images of the decayed house, the misty forest… and Kael, stepping into the silence.
In the center of the room sat someone on a high chair.
Their body cloaked in shadow.
No visible face.
No audible breath.
Only silence surrounding them.
The screens shifted.
Kael's data appeared.
Status… unstable.
The figure moved a finger lightly, brushing the air as if parting dust. Their movement was calm, gentle, emotionless.
They watched Kael on the screen as though observing something they had seen before… yet with a faint spark of curiosity.
And finally, in a whisper nearly swallowed by the silence, they spoke:
"…Will it be more interesting this time?"
The screens flickered.
Silence reclaimed everything.
And Kael's first step into something far greater had begun.