Until his last breath in that place, there was no sign of life.
The apartment lived him as much as he lived it; piles of bags, dirty dishes, and scattered food wrappers littered the floor like an abandoned battlefield. The smell a mix of dust and old grease no longer bothered him. It had become part of his routine.
He sat on a worn-out chair, staring at the TV, devouring the screen like he once devoured his meals long ago. But he no longer cared what was playing. Every detail seemed meaningless. All he saw was a shadow of the time he had lost.
He was in his early thirties, a man whose face carried the marks of a life that had barely been lived. Every morning, he woke up late. Every evening, he collapsed into the chair, exhausted. Every day was the same monotony, the same boredom, the same soul-eating routine.
Then, suddenly, on the narrow street he usually wandered aimlessly, he saw her.
The girl he had loved back in school.
Lively, radiant, smiling at him as if time had never touched her gentle heart, despite the shattered world around him. He froze in place, his heart caught between silence and chaos, between nostalgia and the broken reality. He must have looked strange, but to her, he was always the one worthy of a smile.
Years may have passed, yet he still felt the same warmth, the same old longing.
Then, her boyfriend appeared a few steps away. Her smile didn't vanish, but it changed more cautious, more precise.
He wanted to approach, to say something, anything but fear held him back. Fear of her reaction, fear of the time that had stolen everything from him.
Just as she turned to look behind her, he felt it. Something strange. A silent watcher. Something hidden, observing every move.
He ducked behind a corner, heart pounding, eyes tracking every movement, every smile. Then, he forced himself away, into the back streets away from the past, away from any chance of return.
Finally, he reached his apartment, slammed the door shut, and sank to the floor. Everything felt meaningless. Everything reminded him of failure.
He opened a pack of instant noodles, eating without thought. Soon, he began to choke. Gasping for air, he struggled to breathe, but it all felt absurdly cruel.
He whispered to himself, half-sarcastic, half-despairing:
"Am I really going to die choking on instant noodles? Truly pathetic…"
Then, suddenly, everything went dark. Absolute darkness. Silent, but not frightening rather, it felt like being completely cut off from the world.
He woke up in a dark cave, the walls hard and cold, the ceiling low, pressing down on his chest. Yet, beside him, a strange glowing screen appeared, showing numbers and stats he had never seen in his life:
[Level: 1]
[Status: -]
[Strength: 2]
[Mana: 1]
[Intelligence: 4]
He tried to make sense of it, but his mind offered no answers.
Then another notification appeared:
"You have unlocked a special skill!"
To activate it, you must speak the word:
"Arcanum"
[Skill Name: Ignis]
He froze, unsure what it meant, or how it happened but something stirred inside him. A surge of energy, a call to life he had never felt before.
Suddenly, the cave shook. The ground trembled beneath his feet. Rocks cracked and fell. The air swirled, heavy and oppressive, his nerves stretched to the breaking point.
From the shadows emerged a massive beast, larger than his mind could comprehend. Dark energy radiated from it. Its eyes burned like molten embers. Massive claws, teeth sharp as arrows every movement reverberated through the cave.
He stood frozen, heart pounding, body trembling, sweat streaming down his forehead. Nothing seemed real, like a nightmare made flesh.
The beast roared again, the cave trembling under its power. The air thickened, heavy with its dark energy.
Then, in a blink, it lunged at him, impossibly fast. Every sense of safety vanished, fear consuming his body entirely.
By instinct, he leaped aside, heart hammering. Every muscle shook with terror, fingers clenched, barely avoiding the deadly strike. Each step, each breath, felt like a battle for survival.
For a moment, he paused, trying to regain composure, gasping for air. Weakness and despair coursed through him but there was something else. Something deep inside, waiting to be unleashed.